It seems that the business community is really starting to swing in behind supporting the City Rail Link project. Perhaps they’ve read the business case and its supporting information, and are starting to comprehend the potential benefits the project will bring. In any case, it’s nice to have a few more ‘heavy-weights’ on your side supporting rail projects for once.
Here’s what a Stuff Article has to say about what the Auckland Council Business Advisory Panel recommended at its meeting yesterday:
Key representatives of Auckland’s business community say urgency needs to be applied to the city’s rail link project, which they announced their support for last night.
The announcement by the Auckland Council Business Advisory Panel followed a presentation about the $2.5 billion project by Auckland Transport yesterday evening.
The panel says the rail link will bring considerable economic benefit to Auckland as well as substantially boosting the capacity of the city’s rail network.
Chair of the Business Advisory Panel Cameron Brewer says the endorsement demonstrates how widespread support for the project is.
“What’s more, to have panel members insist that the council aims for the project to be completed in six years shows they are keen to see some real urgency applied.”
The panel also says it is eager to be involved in developing a funding solution for the rail link.
Cameron Brewer hasn’t exactly been the biggest supporter of the project on the Council so far, so it’s good to hear him being more positive about it.
I’m looking forward to the large construction companies realising that there’s potentially a lot of money they could make out of constructing large rail projects – and not just large roading projects. Aside from the trucking lobby, Steven Joyce seems to listen most to business people and construction companies – so perhaps we’re heading in the right direction with bringing the government around to a more supportive position. (Though I see Joyce was slamming the project in parliament today so perhaps I’m being too optimistic).
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Cam Brewer is one to watch. I think you have to understand that he’s been spouting right-wing, anti-PT, anti-Len Brown nonsense for most of the last year because he’s been fighting for the leadership of “the Right” on the Council, and positioning himself for a mayoral run in 2013. But now Dick Quax is back on the Council, C&R are swinging in behind him. I think Cam has therefore decided that trying to be “leader of the opposition” is a waste of time and he might as well go back to being constructive.
Interesting. Thanks Doloras.
Brewer was a very vocal supporter of public transport when he was heading the Newmarket Business Association, and I never got the impression that it was just “a position”. There was no need for it to be anything other than his true feelings, because Newmarket is uniquely serviced by public transport and will remain so through any eventuality short of complete abolition. The NBA has no skin in the road game or the public transport game, they just want people to come to Newmarket and spend money.
The about-face once he got onto the Council always struck me as politicking rather than principle.
Awesome. Nice to see momentum building behind this. I realistically think that even with this government it will be hard for them to say no in a few years time. Of course, that puts it out a further few years beyond when it’s needed.
(Actually, I think the large companies motoring their way though projects (Fletcher, Beca etc) will have a hand in pushing for it as a large project, but that’s okay).
“motoring” – nice pun. 🙂
Fletchers etc. will be looking ahead at their future workloads. Also, the ACBAP can see how it will stimulate growth in the CBD, will will be good for the property devlopers, landlords, and their business tenants. And without them having to put their hands too far into their own pockets (not that they’d call it a “subsidy”).
Notwithstanding the fact that this seems just the thing for the business-minded Herald to report, it doesn’t seem to rate a mention in today’s issue (or online). Rather, it’s too busy crowing over approval for the Owairaka/Waterview monstrosity, the only ‘missing link’ dear to that organ.
I hope you are right Doloras. Ah, politics! If it wasn’t having such an (often severe) effect on people, it would be the greatest spectator sport ever.
It should be noted that only two councillors voted against the funding for designation of the tunnel, George Wood who has not liked rail projects in the past and the other was Dick Quax
I beleive George Wood catches the northern express to work… so he probably only sees the best of the bus network as opposed to the harsh reality that is everywhere else- not surprised that he thinks buses are sufficient.
the biggest argument againt the CBD Line amoungst uninformed people seems to be “we cant justify spending that much on something that will probably only have a minor effect on patronage… all in all,it only gets us 2 new stations, and hardly anyone will use it.”. These people dont seem to understand that even if it causes NO increase on patronage it will be required within the next few years. Our problem isnt getting people to catch the train… its finding capacity for the thousands every year that start catching trains daily! Its not about the route, or the stations, its about capacity. Thats pretty obvious from even a quick pass through the congested Britomart at peak time I would have thought.
This is good news. Joyce may not listen to anything that us hippy-type public transport advocates have to say, but he’s definitely a fan of business groups. If there’s a swell of support from significant businesses, that may be what’s required to get him to change his tune.
Not that I’m at all cynical about the Minister’s financial motivations, of course.
If you want to hear about government by major funders, you gotta listen to this presentation late last week by Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig here at the Sky City Convention Centre. As Lessig was berating the US government for its ‘corruption’ in this respect I couldn’t help but draw parallels with Steven Joyce.
http://www.r2.co.nz/20110629/lawrence-l.htm
“Government of the People, by the Corporations, for the Corporations.” Lessig calling the US a “non-functional democracy” is priceless. It’s just a shame that Joyce et al are determined to make NZ’s democracy similarly dysfunctional.
Seriously, nothing is going to happen under National for this project. They simply won’t ever fund it, no matter how many people want it. Only with a change in government will this project seriously get going, or if Auckland somehow funds it itself.
Good to see Brewer concentrate on what AK needs rather than just playing politics.
Only motorway obsessed and city despising Joyce, the lobby he represents, and his lickspital lackeys cowering at the MoT and NZTA could fail to see the economic benefit of this project.
Rumour is that political opposition to the CRL is softening. I think there’s genuine surprise at how popular the project is.
Now we just need to give Joyce a “window to climb out of” so he can make a funding contribution without ending up with egg on his face.
From what I hear the biggest road block isn’t so much Joyce but is actually Bill English
Just call it a (rail)Road of National Significance and he can add it to the list!
I’ve always thought that we should keep referring to “ROUTES of national significance”; that way we can then determine the best mix of modes that will “solve the problem”…
Or TPONS – transport projects of national significance.
IONS – Infrastructure Of National Significance
Perhaps that window will be the council/AT gaining the designation, by that time most would have forgotten his comments around the business case and they (likely to be another transport minister by then) can claim that after redoing the numbers with the changes AT made just before the results were released that it now makes sense.
I think that’s a possible series of events. The key is that Auckland Transport now have a year or two worth of work to do securing the designation and starting to acquire properties. All that time we can work on having the project gaining more and more momentum to the point where it’s going to be very difficult to oppose.
Hopefully the more detailed analysis of the project’s cost-effectiveness and what the alternatives are (and how crap they are) will also continue so that the yawning chasm between the AC/AT position and that of MoT & Treasury can be narrowed.
I think there are other things that will play a part, with the time it takes to get the designation we will be getting back into the mayoral electoral cycle, if if in 2013 Brown is re-elected (or someone else who will push it just as much) then I think the government will finally see the public are pretty serious about this and will probably want to get on board. This will have extra importance as by that time Nationals lead in the polls will be not be as strong as it is now so they will have to do more to keep people happy.
If however Auckland elects a Mayor that doesn’t support the tunnel, someone like Dick Quax, then it could be a bit of a repeat of the 1970’s with central government saying come back in a few years time when you are all in agreement on something
In 2 years we’ll probably start to see the economy picking up along with the price of petrol, and the electric trains are due. So with futher increases to the rate of patronage growth likely, and money coming in, the likelyhood of govenment funding the tunnel should also increase