Francesca Rudkin: We all want new infrastructure - but this is getting frustrating

It’s understandable Auckland CBD's retail and hospitality businesses' initial reaction was one of concern after learning Auckland’s train network will close for 96 days in the final push to get the City Rail Link open in 2026. Devastated even.

In years to come, we will take the CRL for granted as a valuable, normal part of a functioning, modern city. But almost a decade of disruption has taken a toll.

This latest news will be triggering for those impacted. Yes, the rail network upgrades have to be done. Yes, better to bite the bullet now than drag this out for even longer. We are all desperate to cut the ribbon on the CRL and get on with life.

But this news came out of the blue. It’s only 7 weeks until the first shut down - from 27th December to 28th January. This is very short notice for businesses preparing for what they hope will be a busy summer season.  

It's frustrating. What helps manage the pain is how you consult, communicate information, and prepare for the inconvenience.

AT said there will be extra buses to accommodate passengers during the rail closures, but acknowledges special events will be challenging. New Year's Eve, Sail GP, and the ASB Classic are all held over summer period when there will be train stoppages. Honestly, and I know it’s hard for some of you to believe, but Auckland is a great place to be over summer. As long as you can get around.  

It’s not like a sold out concert at Eden Park isn’t challenging enough now for public transport. Which is something the CRL will improve. 

And this is the issue at the heart of it all - new infrastructure can breathe life into a city or region, we just don’t want to live through the nightmare of building it.  

This is not just an Auckland problem. The Government has announced its preferred plan for Wellington is to build two new tunnels to funnel large numbers of cars into the central city. Thats going to be disruptive. I was in Christchurch this week, where there is real excitement about the stadium and the growth of the city - but what a ordeal the last 13 years have been.  

This week, Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop released a discussion document which outlines the Infrastructure Commission’s thinking for developing a 30 year National Infrastructure Plan. The idea is to create a bipartisan approach to infrastructure, to plan, fund and deliver what the country needs - but also what it can afford.  

It's a good, forward thinking, organised approach to infrastructure - the plan should be delivered by the end of 2025. It will provide a pipeline, which gives us a much clearer view of upcoming projects and an understanding of what’s involved for those impacted.

So, bring on the upgrades and improvements to our infrastructure, but bring the people along with you. It's not that hard, the Government must consult, communicate and - this is a really important bit-  compensate those adversely impacted. 

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News TALKSB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
It is understandable Auckland City Center's retail and hospitality businesses
initial reaction was one of concern after learning Auckland's trains
network will close for ninety six days at various points
in the final push to get the city rail Link
open in twenty twenty six. Devastated Even in years to come,

(00:33):
we will take the CRL for granted as a valuable,
normal part of a functioning modern city, but almost a
decade of disruption has taken a toll and this latest
news will be triggering for those impacted. Yes, the round
network needs upgrades, They have to be done. Yes, better
to bite the bullet now than drag this out even longer.
We're all desperate to cut the ribbon on the CRL

(00:54):
and get on with life. But this news, it kind
of came out of the blue, and it's only seven
weeks until the first shut down from the twenty seventh
of December to the twenty eighth of jan And this
is very short notice for businesses preparing for what they
were hope would be a busy summer season. It is frustrating.
What helps manage the pain is how you consult, communicate
information and prepare for the inconvenience. Ats said that there

(01:18):
will be extra buses to accommodate passengers during the rail closures,
but acknowledge special events will be challenging. Of course You've
got New Years Eve, salgp asb Classic. They're all held
over the summer period when there will be train stoppages. Honestly,
and I know this will be hard for some of
you to believe, but Auckland is a great place to
be over the summer as long as you can get around.

(01:39):
It's not like a sold out concert at Eden Park
isn't challenging enough with our current public transport. And of
course this is something that the CRL will improve. And
this is the issue at the heart of it. All
new infrastructure can breathe life into a city or region.
We want it. We just don't want to have to
live through the nightmare of building it. This is not

(02:00):
just an Auckland problem. The government has announced its preferred
plan for Wellington is to build two new tunnels to
funnel large numbers of cars into the central city. That's
going to be disruptive as in christ Church this week
there's real excitement about the stadium and the growth of
the city beautiful day christ Church, but what an ordeal
the last thirteen years have been. This week, Infrastructure Minister

(02:21):
Chris Bishop released a discussion document which outlines the Infrastructure
Commissions thinking for developing a thirty year national infrastructure Plan.
The idea is to create a bipartisan approach to infrastructure
to plan, fund and deliver what the country needs but
also what it can afford. It's good, forward thinking, organized
approach to infrastructure. The plan should be delivered by the

(02:43):
end of twenty twenty five and it will provide a
pipeline which gives us a much clearer view of upcoming
projects and an understanding of what's involved for those impacted.
So bring on the upgrades and the improvements to our infrastructure,
but bring the people along with you. It's not that hard.
The government just has to consult, communicate, and this is
the really important bit. Compensate when appropriate those adversely impacted.

Speaker 1 (03:10):
For more from the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to News Talks at b from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio,