Tag: City Rail Link

OIA Request Back from the Auditor General

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And we learn something new

 

After Councillor Cameron Brewer was flinging around assumptions about correspondence between the Auditor General and Auckland Council I decided to file an Official Information Act request with the Office of the Controller and Auditor General to see if there was any correspondence that could be found to substantiate Brewer’s claims.

This was the OIA I sent:

From: Ben Ross

December 09, 2014

Dear Office of the Controller and Auditor-General,

I am aware that Audit New Zealand audited the Auckland Council
Draft Long Term Plan 2015-2025 in which Audit NZ through its audit
has stated: that owing to circumstances it would be prudent of
Auckland Council to push back the City Rail Link start date from
2015/2016 to another date owing to uncommitted funding by
Government prior to 2020.

My information act request centres around correspondence between
Auckland Council and your Office in relation to the audit of the
2015-2025 LTP and/or the City Rail Link start date situation.

What if any correspondence was had between Audit New Zealand, the
Office of the Controller and Auditor-General, and Auckland Council
before and after Audit NNZ carried out its audit of the Long Term
Plan draft.

If there was any correspondence can it be released into the public
domain please as we have confusion coming from Auckland Council
specifically our elected representatives on whether there was
correspondence that either lead to or came as a result from Audit
NZ auditing the draft Long Term Plan.

Yours faithfully,

Ben Ross

……

 

And this is the reply I got back today (which was very fast):

From: Tamar McKewen
Office of the Controller and Auditor-General

December 10, 2014

Kia ora Ben,

Thank you for your query. Auckland Council and Audit New Zealand’s correspondence is part of an ongoing audit process. On 18 December an audit opinion will be issued concluding this process.

The Auditor-General is not subject to the Official Information Act. But as noted above, you will not need it as the opinion will be made public when it is finalised.

Ngā mihi,

Tamar McKewen
Communications Advisor (media)
Reports and Communications Group
Office of the Auditor-General Te Mana Arotake and Audit New Zealand Mana Arotake Aotearoa

 

——

Source: https://fyi.org.nz/request/2312-correspondence-between-auckland-council-and-the-office-of-the-controller-and-auditor-general-in-regards-to-the-2015-2025-long-term-plan-including-around-the-city-rail-link#incoming-7503

 

And there where have it in that I learnt something new insofar as I can not OIA the Auditor General.

 

In any case though my OIA was answered satisfactorily and we will see that opinion on the 18th – the same day the Governing Body meets for the final time this year.

 

My thanks to the Auditor General’s office for a very prompt reply 🙂

 

City Rail Link Start Date Set to 2018

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Governing Body Agrees Finally

 

Just In:

After debating – well relitigating four years of previous debate the Governing Body in an extraordinary session of Council has agreed by a vote of 14-6 (one absent) for the main City Rail Link project to start 2018. That is Option Two of the recommendations per the agenda (below).

As for the Notice of Motions I called for well they didn’t happen (was to be expected but tried) so will try again in the Long Term Plan submission rounds early next year.

 

The debate itself which dragged from 1:30 to 4pm and should have realistically taken 45 minutes was absolute torture and shows the lack of capacity some of our elected representatives have in that Governing Body. The sole purpose of that debate today was to vote for Option Two and work out funding arrangements to satisfy the Auditor General’s concerns she has raised over the situation. NOT to push a personal barrow from the last four years and especially since the Government has agreed to the City Rail Link in the first place.

 

So yep again the Governing Body did screw up a debate and continue on its history path of being ineffectual as a collective. Which is a damned shame as we do have some fine and smart individual Councillors in there.

Bring on 2016!

 

Reference Post and link to agenda

Amendment to CRL Start Date in the Long Term Plan

 

Business for Tuesday in Regards to the City Rail Link

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Respect the Citizenry

 

Electric Train at Britomart Source: pic.twitter.com/vjQZfMUeex
Electric Train at Britomart
Source: pic.twitter.com/vjQZfMUeex

On Tuesday the Governing Body will meet in an extraordinary session to work through the amendment the Mayor will be tabling around the City Rail Link

The Presser from the Mayoral Office on the Situation:

Mayor proposes amendment to CRL timing in draft LTP

 

Following discussions with Audit NZ, the Mayor is proposing an amendment in Council’s draft Long-term Plan 2015-2025 on the timing for construction of Auckland’s number one transport priority – the City Rail Link (CRL).

In its draft budget, Council has the CRL project commencing in 2015/16, based on an assumption government’s funding contribution for the project would also start next year, five years earlier than government has so far indicated.

On Tuesday 9 December, council will consider changing the assumption of timing of the government contribution to 2018/19. This will mean enablement works of $280 million will still take place in the first three years of the plan, but construction will not start until 2018/19. This will also delay the completion date to 2023.

Mayor Len Brown says:

“We have a track record of success with central government when it comes to the CRL – we have moved them from a position of total opposition to one of commitment for funding half the project from the year 2020,” says Mayor Len Brown.

“Yes, we still have to work with government on final timing, but I’m confident we can come to an agreement and get on and get this job done.

“I understand why Audit NZ feel that we need to take a more conservative approach to our financial projections and I am proposing that we develop the LTP based on a later timing of government contribution.”

Public consultation on the draft LTP begins January 23 next year. The final plan is due for adoption June 30, 2015.

—-ends—-

 

The Agenda with the financials:

 

Now our Deputy Mayor did say this in response: 

Penny Hulse
6 December at 13:28 ·

City RailLink to be put back by a couple of years. Disappointed that the government are taking so long to catch up with the Auckland reality which is that the link is vital to the economic future of our region. 30 years of waiting have made the 2-3 year delay tolerable but we have work to do with the relevant ministers to get the timing and the funding sorted.
….a deadend train station cannot generate the PT numbers without more trains in service! Auckland is 1/3 of New Zealand time the government treated us fairly.

 

My response was this:

Sorry to say Penny but the 2018 main project start date has long been predicted. Regardless of having the engineering capacity ready (which according to NZTA is 2018 any how by the looks of it) the extra three years would allow the financials that werent tolls or extra taxes to be sorted.

Recommendation: Pass a Notice of Motion on Tuesday that would allow no preference in funding options as “suggested” by the Council. But rather allow the ratepayers to pick an option of their own choice or creation (or even a do nothing) and the Governing Body to consider them all then put in place for the LTP in July next year.

Recommendation 2: Pass a Notice of Motion to overrule the Finance and Performance Committee in selling Lot 59 land in Manukau. Hold on to that land and allow the Development Auckland CCO to decide in September 2015 when it is onstream. I have a LGOIMA away with Council in anycase around the Manukau Interchange any how to see what the status of it is seeming AT is conflicted in either building it next year or having it delayed until 2021 owing to “budget cuts”

Note none of this disables the progress of the enabling works Downtown which should be budgeted for by now. But rather the main project in line with expectations and getting the actual alternative funding sources properly sorted (that yes I have presented on at the ADC in October)

Those Notice of Motions would respect the intelligence of the citizenry and allow us to decide how WE are to fund these transport projects. NOT what the Mayor wants and tries to shimmy on us through a perceived option of choice which is nothing but tokenism.

 

So if any Councillor has their wits about them they would introduce those Notice of Motions tomorrow and get them passed. Or Council will find a very hostile City come March next year when the Long Term Plan submissions close.

The Government has effectively come to the party, the Auditor General has made her ruling to which Council must oblige. Now respect our intelligence and allow us to choose the funding mechanisms freely seeming we are the ones in the end paying for it…

 

Amendment to CRL Start Date in the Long Term Plan

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Mayor seeks amendment in Draft 2015-2025 LTP

 

A more surprising presser hit our inbox(es) late this afternoon. It is on the City Rail Link and the start date for the main project (i.e not the enabling works).

From Auckland Council – specifically the Office of the Mayor:

Mayor proposes amendment to CRL timing in draft LTP

 

Following discussions with Audit NZ, the Mayor is proposing an amendment in Council’s draft Long-term Plan 2015-2025 on the timing for construction of Auckland’s number one transport priority – the City Rail Link (CRL). 

In its draft budget, Council has the CRL project commencing in 2015/16, based on an assumption government’s funding contribution for the project would also start next year, five years earlier than government has so far indicated. 

On Tuesday 9 December, council will consider changing the assumption of timing of the government contribution to 2018/19. This will mean enablement works of $280 million will still take place in the first three years of the plan, but construction will not start until 2018/19. This will also delay the completion date to 2023. 

Mayor Len Brown says: 

“We have a track record of success with central government when it comes to the CRL – we have moved them from a position of total opposition to one of commitment for funding half the project from the year 2020,” says Mayor Len Brown. 

“Yes, we still have to work with government on final timing, but I’m confident we can come to an agreement and get on and get this job done. 

“I understand why Audit NZ feel that we need to take a more conservative approach to our financial projections and I am proposing that we develop the LTP based on a later timing of government contribution.” 

Public consultation on the draft LTP begins January 23 next year. The final plan is due for adoption June 30, 2015.

—-ends—-

 

The extraordinary agenda can be seen here:

 

In highlights to that agenda:

In the 2012-22 LTP we assumed central government funding would commence from the year 2015-16 and the financial data for the 2015-25 LTP has carried that assumption through. The consultation document has been written with three alternative scenarios set out for public consideration:

  • Option 1 – government funding starts in 2015/16 and project proceeds on original timelines
  • Option 2 – government funding starts in 2018/19 – enablement works only for next three years and then construction starting in 2018/19
  • Option 3 – government funding starts in 2020/21 – enablement works only for next three years, construction starts in 2018/19, backed by a firm commitment for government funding from 2020.
  1. While all three scenarios are described in the public consultation document the LTP financials are currently built on Option 1.
  2. Over the last couple of weeks, as staff have been preparing the consultation document for Governing Body sign off later this month, it has become apparent that Audit New Zealand’s view is that it would be more prudent to build the LTP financials on one of the alternative scenarios. In order to ensure we prepare a consultation document consistent with Audit New Zealand’s expectations, I am now proposing that we adopt Option 2 as the basis of our LTP financials.
  3. This option will continue to keep the pressure on the Government to contribute funding earlier than the current commitment, but gives more time for us to work with it to achieve a common view. It also allows us to keep faith with our private sector partners by progressing the enablement works. While it delays the construction timing by a couple of years it has only a relatively minor impact on the financial situation.

Scenario One

Financial information

$ million
Year ended 30 June		 Prior years 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Total
Capital expenditure 178 156 267 432 438 425 481 102 -88 2,391
Government contribution 0 167 133 216 219 200 194 51 -44 1,137
CRL related closing debt 163 155 295 528 778 1,047 1,318 1,343 1,271 1,243 1,215

Assumptions

  • Council proceeds with all project phases
  • Central government contribution from 2015/2016
  • Operational from 2020/2021

Financial impacts

  • Closing group debt of $10.5 billion
  • Interest to revenue ratio does not exceed 12%

 

Scenario Two

Financial information

$ million
Year ended 30 June		 Prior years 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Total
Capital expenditure 178 145 177 78 319 372 416 464 201 137 2,488
Government contribution 0 0 0 0 305 186 195 184 101 68 1,039
CRL related closing debt 163 316 510 614 658 882 1,081 1,340 1,428 1,490 1,487

Assumptions

  • Council proceeds with only investigation and design, land purchases and enablement works for the next three years (total $400 million)
  • Council funds the enablement works (about $280m of the $400m)
  • Central government contribution from 2018/2019
  • Full construction starts 2018/2019
  • Operational from 2022/2023

Financial impacts

  • Total capital expenditure is $97 million higher due to the inflation impact of spending later
  • Government funding reduces by $98 million due to the self-funding of enablement works
  • Closing group debt $272m higher than Scenario One ($10.8b)
  • Interest to revenue ratio does not exceed 12%
  • No difference to rates increases from Scenario One

 

……………

 

Again a simple explanation on how the City Rail Link works:

A Simple But Not Exhaustive Explanation of the City Rail Link

The City Rail Link and Auckland

As I explained to Rebekka’s dad the CRL works on the following premises:
As of current all Western Line trains run from Waitakere, Swanson and Henderson into Britomart on a trip that takes around an hour. Those trains must pass through Newmarket where there is a 3min stand down as drviers change ends to allow the Newmarket to Britomart leg of the trip.
The Western Line as a result mixes with the Southern Line and Onehunga Line trains causing congestion. To make matters worse those trains then get caught outside Britomart as they mix with Eastern Line Trains causing delays and congestion.The CRL would allow Western Line Trains from Mt Eden to travel down the 3.5km tunnel to Britomart skipping Newmarket and thus not running into Southern, Eastern and Onehunga Line Trains as a result. We also get two new stations on the CRL including Aotea which is going to be the busiest being in the middle of the CBD itself.

Time savings go from 60mins to about 43mins there about from Swanson to Britomart via the CRL as a result. You will still get Swanson to Newmarket services that will then continue either on to Onehunga or even Papakura – the South to West services.As the Western Line services are removed from the Newmarket-Britomart leg this frees track space for Eastern, Southern and Onehunga Line trains allow their frequencies to go from 10mins to 5mins in the peak of peaks. This means a train from Papakura every 5mins in the peak if so needed. Result? Capacity increases and the allowances of new lines such as Airport and the North Shore (Botany would be serviced by a Sky Train concept).
That is how the CRL works – it services the bulk of Auckland….

………….

 

Comment

So a 2018 start date for the main project with the enabling works to start as soon as feasibly possible.

That date I have widely touted as a start date for the main project (2017-2018) since I wrote my Auckland Plan submission in 2011. The logic moving the main start date to 2018 in the agenda paper seems consistent in part to the reasoning I used for a 2018 start date for the main project.

It is good to see (although other questions on why so long to move the main start date to 2018 do come up) the Mayor seeking the amendment for the CRL start date via the 2015-2025 Long Term Plan. Now to get the true alternative funding sources that are not extra rates nor tolls sorted by 2018….

Next move falls to us the ratepayer and conversely the Government as well for their funding share…

NZTA Recommends City Rail Link Sooner Rather Later

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NZTA Briefs Minister, Minister Warm to the Idea

 

Electric Train at Britomart Source: pic.twitter.com/vjQZfMUeex
Electric Train at Britomart
Source: pic.twitter.com/vjQZfMUeex

NZTA (New Zealand Transport Agency) has recently briefed new Transport Minister Simon Bridges of activities the organisation is up to and keeping an eye on presently and for the future. This Briefing Incoming Ministers (or BiM) is routine and occurs after an election or when a Minister changes over for that respective Ministry.

 

The BIM to the Minister can be read below:

 

Of note I did pick the up the following in regards to the City Rail Link from NZTA:

5.8 CITY RAIL LINK – AUCKLAND
Auckland Council and Auckland Transport are continuing to plan, design and acquire property for the City Rail Link. The City Rail Link is now being delivered in two distinct parts.
Phase One is the enabling works to build two rail tunnels between Britomart under Queen Street and the Downtown Shopping Centre, and a ‘cut and cover’ tunnel under Albert Street as far as Wyndham Street. The enabling works are planned for 2016 to 2017 to coincide with the planned
redevelopment of the Downtown Shopping Centre by Precinct Properties Ltd. Auckland Council is budgeting between $240 million and $250 million for these works. The aim is to complete the enabling works before the World Masters Games in April 2017. We think this is a sensible sequencing of enabling works which will minimise disruption of critical intersections in the CBD, and enable compliance with the planning conditions that only one intersection can be out of action at any one time. A more compact construction schedule at a later time would prove too disruptive.
Phase Two is the tunnel boring machine and station building stages of the project. This phase could start as early as 2018 and be completed by 2022 at a cost of around $2 billion. Design and procurement decisions for this phase could be taken progressively from 2015/16 onwards, but are dependent on future funding decisions and commitments. The Crown is not currently an active partner in the City Rail Link project implementation. The government has signalled it will only consider being a funding partner to enable a construction start in 2020, or possibly earlier if certain patronage or other targets are achieved. The risk of not being involved in these early stages is that the key elements of the project get determined in the meantime. If the Crown is to be a future funding partner it needs a mechanism to identify options and risks around planning, design, procurement and financing. We have experience in complex infrastructure projects of the scale of the City Rail Link. One mechanism to help manage Crown risk could be for the Transport Agency to become a technical partner with Auckland Transport in developing the City Rail Link. This would be consistent with the one transport system arrangements that have been forged with Auckland Transport and Auckland Council over the last 3-4 years.

…….

Source: http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/briefing-for-incoming-minister/docs/briefing-to-incoming-minister-2014.pdf (page 25)

 

Minister Simon Bridges talks about the two phases to NewsTalk ZB earlier today: Simon Bridges: Auckland’s City Rail Link.

So it seems the Minister is quite warm to the City Rail Link being split into two phases as NZTA has recommended insofar as the Minister has given his blessing for phase one to begin (that is the enabling works) as soon as Council has its own finances sorted.

As for Phase Two the Minister right at the end of the interview gave a one word answer that all things lined up and considered, would allow this phase of the CRL to begin in 2018.

 

All this would bring the City Rail Link two-phase operation in line with what Councillor Linda Cooper tried to get through in the Budget Committee last week (Analysis on The Budget Committee Day One) which to me would have been a good “fail safe” device knowing the Government is holding firm to 2020. However, and rather stupidly the majority of the Budget Committee led by the Mayor are holding fast to whole hogging the CRL from 2016 no matter what.

 

For me and as noted in three City Rail Link podcasts what NZTA has proposed is a good Best of Both Worlds solution and would be entirely consistent with my calling to start the CRL around the 2017/2018 start date. That said it would be my stance over the last three years (when I last updated it from my original Auckland Plan submission) slightly updated to allow the enabling works so that we are in sync with the Precinct Property development in Downtown Auckland.

 

So NZTA has moved first and we have a Minister giving his blessing to the enabling works at the minimum while warm to Phase Two starting 2018 all things considered. Now would be a very good idea for Council to agree to the NZTA two-phase operation for the sanctity of the City Rail Link. In other words for an inflexible Mayor to be come a tad more flexible.

 

CRL Recent Podcasts

SELL IT

Selling the City Rail Link

The Weekend Analysis – Capacity and Frequencies open with The City Rail Link