My Account
Opposition transport spokesperson Jamie-Lee Ross had a first-hand experience of Rodney’s traffic issues on July 15. He turned up more than an hour late for a meeting at the Wellsford District
Community Centre after being caught in a traffic jam on State Highway 1. He was in Wellsford to discuss road improvements.
After apologising for his tardiness, Mr Ross said the jam, which was caused by a traffic accident, nevertheless offered a salutary lesson.
“The best way for politicians to understand what the average person sees and experiences is to go and experience it themselves,” he said.
He added that the hold-up illustrated how both National and Labour had failed the region when it came to roading issues. But he said the National Party had turned a corner by developing key routes around the country – known as Roads of National Significance (RoNS) – that it saw as essential to economic progress.
One of these was the Puhoi to Warkworth RoNS currently under construction. Mr Ross said National believed it was vital to complete the planned extension of this road as a four-lane carriageway all the way to Whangarei – something the current government had failed to commit to.
When accidents occur on such roads, traffic can go around, it rather than remain gridlocked as they are today.
“These roads create jobs, they save lives and they also unlock the economic potential for many of the areas where they are built,” he said.
“The new government has an unhealthy desire to tax you more to fund trains running through Dominion Road and out to West Auckland,” he said.
Mr Ross also reiterated National’s opposition to the regional fuel tax saying it let Auckland Council “off the hook” when it came to its responsibility to ensure it was run efficiently.
He said National would abolish the regional fuel tax if elected in 2020.
Mr Ross had a similar “off the hook” argument when questioned about the targeted transport rate imposed by the Rodney Local Board to fund local transport improvements.
“If you are paying a targeted rate that means the Mayor of Auckland does not have to provide you with services that should be the normal part of Council business,” he said.
