To the National Government

Written by Ben Ross - Talking Auckland

A Message to the New Zealand National Government

 

To the Right Honourable Prime Minister John Key
Head of Government
Leader of the New Zealand National Party

14 December 2012

 

Please have Minister of Finance – the Honourable Bill English sign the cheque for the Auckland City Rail Link – covering no more that 40% of the total project cost (so $1,440,000,000 (after inflation)) in time for Budget 2013 with the release of money being 2014 or 2015. The cheque is to be handed over to the City of Auckland for the City Rail Link mega project. Can you please have the Minister of Finance sign another cheque for $100,000,000 for the Auckland Rail and Bus Efficiency Program (again in time for Budget 2013 and the money being released August 2013) to help facilitate extra redundancy capacity in the bus and rail networks prior to the City Rail Link being open for business around 2025.

The City of Auckland with its population of 1,500,000 people will take care of the rest of details for the planning, execution and delivery of the City Rail Link plus all efficiency programs. I need not need to remind the Prime Minister that this is for the sake of the NATIONAL economy and that DOING NOTHING is not an option. All other funding provisions (the 60%) will be taken care by Budget 2013 per further works built on from this post HERE.

 

If one needs a hard report to back the case of the City Rail Link and efficiency programs I turn your attention to the recently completed and publicly released City Centre Future Access Report which you can read in the embeds below to save on your bandwidth (as we are still in recessionary time as the Minister of Finance keeps telling us).

 

With Kind Regards

 

Ben Ross

Card-Carrying National Party Member since 2003

 

 

The CCFAS Reports

 

Section 1 of 2

 

Section 2 of 2

 

Graphic Summary

 

 

 

 

One thought on “To the National Government”

  1. Ben,

    I think this is a worthwhile draft for a letter to the PM.

    I suggest your post it again with the suggestion to Aucklanders that they copy it to the PM. It would be better than any survey, just to know the strength of numbers supporting the CRL.
    Go for it.

    I dissagree with the longer time frame. The first mention of a rail link in Auckland was way back in the 1920’s, at the time the Railway Station was moved from behind the GPO over to Parnell. Then it was proposed to take the line straight into the hillside opposite the new station and into town.

    I was not around then but came on the sceen in 1927. Worked in town for 40 or so years, saw what Robbie was proposing and liked it.

    If it had been done either in the 1920’s or later under Robbie, what a different place Auckland would be now.

    On our roads we are slowing to a snails pace, I know ’cause I have just driven into town and back, a 12 minute trip that took half an hour. What a waist of time and petrol, in that stop go traffic. The only one to gain was the government coffers with the extra GST collected on excess fuel consumed.

    I look forward riding the EMU’s but can’t wait much longer and still avoid the Grim Reaper.

    CRD

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