Viewpoint – Making connections

I am pleased to report some good news which arrived last week as the Coalition Government announced we are accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Warkworth and Whangārei as part of our Roads of National Significance programme. As part of the NZ First-National coalition agreement, we promised to build a new four lane highway north.

Like you, I share your frustrations following another dumping of rain that caused yet another closure of the Brynderwyns at the end of the school holidays. The Northland Expressway will combine three projects from Warkworth all the way to Whangarei, providing a desperately needed resilient link, removing our dependency on the Brynderwyns.

To accelerate the build process the entire project will be planned upfront with a single design stage, with the road being built in sequential stages. The first stage will build from Warkworth to Te Hana, this section of road is projected to increase New Zealand’s GDP by $497m.

The second stage will connect to the Port Marsden highway, bypassing the Brynderwyn Hills.

For locals who traverse the current difficult drive regularly, the Brynderwyn bypass will be a game-changer, removing the most difficult part of the journey, and providing four lanes of safer travel. The final stage will push the four lanes all the way to Whangarei, opening the city and port.

Thriving regions is a clear focus for New Zealand First across multiple policy areas. We have always known that investment in regional infrastructure will help our regions and communities grow. The new $1.2 billion Regional Infrastructure Fund, alongside safe transport networks are key to unlocking the potential of our regions.

Across my media delegations as Parliamentary Under-Secretary I am also focused on the regions. While there’s been much coverage of the closure of Newshub and various news programmes on TVNZ, the challenges regional media are facing are no less dire and are at the forefront of my work programme. I am concerned about the long-term future of our community newspapers, and have been visiting regional media organisations, both local radio and newspapers around the country as they are increasingly struggling in challenging economic conditions.

While it’s not the government’s role to prop up struggling media organisations, it’s through regulatory change that we are able to support the environment they are operating in. I’ve begun some work to assist Mahurangi Matters find a pathway to enable independent community newspapers to become sustainable.

It would be a sad day for democracy if our local papers had to shut up shop. They tell important local stories, they capture local sports and other events that are not be covered by the larger network media entities. They are truly localism in action.