Auckland Mayor Len Brown's unveiled a package proposing motorway user charges and a fixed $99-a-year levy on household ratepayers to help fund an additional $12 billion for transport network upgrades.
The recommendations have come in Brown's report on the Auckland Council's 2015-25 draft long term plan published in December.
Brown said because the proposed motorway user charge would require legislation and take a number of years to put in place, he was proposing to fund immediate new investments of $500 million over the next three years through an "interim fixed levy on ratepayers".
He said such a levy was first signalled in the draft long term plan.
"It is intended to meet urgent needs for investment in public transport, including new rail, bus and cycleways. In order to make a difference the levy has been calculated at an average of $99 a year for non-business ratepayers and $159 for business ratepayers.
“Today we are responding to a clear message from Aucklanders - start fixing our transport problems now,” Len Brown said.
“Auckland is New Zealand’s fastest growing region. We will have one million more Aucklanders sharing our roads over the next thirty years. Just to keep this city moving in the future we need to invest in an enhanced, fully integrated transport network.
“Aucklanders, in record numbers during the consultation, and in an independent survey, have been clear that they are prepared to pay their share to get the transport network we need. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for action. Aucklanders have spoken, and we now have a responsibility to listen and act upon it.”
The key recommendations in the Mayor’s Report include:
- Supporting the Auckland Plan Transport Network and motorway tolling as the mechanism to pay for it
- An interim transport levy over three years equating to less than $2 per week for non-business ratepayers and $3 per week for business ratepayers
- The Mayor and Chief Executive to engage with the government to enable the implementation of a motorway tolling system by 2018/19
- Keeping average rates rises to 2.5% for year one.
- Keeping the UAGC at $385 and slowing down the business differential to limit the impact on ratepayers to 0.5% per annum
55 Comments
Oh.... My .....God.
Just listen to the spin!!!
The only reason all this money needs to be levied is because he refuses to stop feeding the Auckland ratepayers' money down the train tunnel.
When are the next elections?
Who will be standing on the ticket of not spending money on the tunnel????
here's an easy solution. Close Queens Street for normal traffic. Lay some tram tracks along it into New North Road.. It'll be way cheaper than digging the tunnel!. Gold Coast city Council did it 13km for 2.6 billions, that's $200,000 per m vs $1,000,000 per m for Auckland proposed tunnel.
We already have a lot of heavy rail in existence - we need the CRL to increase the possible capacity of the existing heavy rail (currently constrained by Britomart being a dead end). So even though the CRL is only a couple of kms long, it will significantly improve the entire rail network (just like the harbour bridge is probably very costly per km but is an integral part of the entire motorway network)
Interesting article here.
new Zealand sadly lagging behind....
http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/apr/28/end-of-the-car-age-how-ci…
That's all we get - spin (and broken promises) His legacy won't be the tunnel it will be as the most hopeless mayor in history. And when the heat gets too much he runs to a cricket match or hides under "no comment" - perhaps this is why he build the hidden room. "A script for a version of "The Office", would be funny if it wasn't so sad
And which world do you live in?? The one where there is no acknowledgement or respect for Constitutional Rights where people walk all over the top of others??......Are you advocating that only a person with a legal degree should/could have any understanding on what is a basic constitutional right? Because if you do think that then that would place all Rights in the hands of the few!!!
No the one where 99.999% ppl who are not libertarian live. What you describe as basic rights are not what I consider basic rights, by a long way. In terms of legal degree who decides what the law says is a judge and not a lawyer, which is why I said sue to determine if your point of view has any real basis in law. otherwise you can stand to be an MP and get he laws changed to suit your outlook, ie follow the democratic process. No I do not think that right should be placed in the hands of the few, but I certainly dont think that Rights should be placed in the hands of one such as yourself.
Put in a congestion charge, put in small buses, hop-on, hop-off...put in a New Mayor, Make the other one a bus driver, not a career waste of money driver...No problem..Biggest problems, solved.
Also stop immigration of the uber rich...jacking up houses and get back to a simple life. ..simple housing ..Another problem solved.
Oh yes, small buses will be so much cheaper than big buses, because bus driver wages in NZ are so low... Work drinks this afternoon and the number of people complaining that they had to wait this morning becuase the buses are full before they get to them, yup lets make they buses smaller, that will really help people get to work.
33% of property rates go on building roads, that's the way it's always been. A levy on registration would require law changes from the central government, and the central government isn't keen on regional charges. The new trains in Auckland are a couple years late because National banned the regional fuel tax that was to pay for them.
Instead of the inner city rail link build the outer city rail link for half the price between Kumeu over to Albany, past Massey University, Albany Stadium connecting to the Northern Motorway Bus Lanes. Currently almost all farmland and bush. In 10 years time we will need to either demolish houses or tunnel under these like the Inner City Rail Link, Waterview Tunnel etc. Western Line stops at Kumeu without going way West.
Smoke and mirrors
More on cramptons "growth" - NZ herald - tweeted by Bernard Hickey
Where is the growth? Where is the economic benefit? where is the immigration dividend?
It's not there
Now Len Brown seeks ways to pay for the cost of achieving an illusory pittance - is it worth it
Subtract other exclusions and negatives such as that promised by Len Brown - its probably negative
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=114…
... don't blame poor old Len Brown ... geez , everyone picks on the guy ...
Was it his personal fault that more Aucklanders voted for him than for his opponent at the last election ? ... it was a 2 horse race if I recall , youse coulda chosen John Palomino ... but'cha picked Lenny instead ...
... go to the " private room " Len , have a rest ... I'll bring you something nice to eat , a little Asian perhaps ....
Len Brown needs to explain why in 2007 Auckland Transport had 40 employees and now has over 400.
AND THINGS HAVE GONE FROM BAD TO ABSOLUTLEY DIABOLICAL
I would also like to know exactly what these 400 people do all day , because I will bet you if we fired all 400 tomorrow , it would not have any detrimental effect on the traffic whatsoever .Zero , Zilch Nada Nothing .
Auckland transport does not own a single bus , train or any asset for transporting people whatsoever
It begs the question , WTF are these people actually doing apart from drawing $100k salaries ?.
Here's some basic stat on number of staffs on high salary band between the two similar size cities;
Brisbane City Council:
$100k-200K: 60
$200k-300K: 7
$300k-plus: 1
Auckland Council:
$100k-plus:1780
$200k-plus: 141
$300k-plus: 35
Your rates are very well spent in Auckland. Wonder if any job going in Auckland Council..
know, it's a shocker, those high wages.
Meanwhile we're asked to bend over a bit further every year....
Just to put this in perspective....I've calculated how much is being spent on wages.
I've taken 1780 and divided it by 2.
One half I've multiplied by 100,000 = 89 million
the other half I've multiplied by 150,000 = 133.5 million
(because the bracket is between 100k and 200k so I think my estimate could even be quite conservative)
That's 222,500,000 or two hundred and twenty two MILLION of our rates that go on paying staff.
.
For a council that keeps cutting services.
I say - cut some staff, Len.
Its simple really the Brisbane City Council Mayor Graham Quirk is a Conservative and Len is a left wing Labour supporter. That shows in the comparison between the two cities. The right are conservative and sensible with spending and the left just spend, spend and borrow more.
Its just the fundamental difference between the right and the left leaning politicians.
Brisbane City Council Annual Report 2014 and
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11324634
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