Viewpoint – Penlink assured under National

As most of you are aware, the 2020 General Election will take place on September 19 alongside the cannabis and end of life choice referendums.

Until then, I will be busy holding the Government to account and advancing the issues important to my electorate. At the time of writing, I have just finished the first sitting block back at Parliament for the year and will spend the next week in my electorate running clinics with constituents.

This edition of Hibiscus Matters signals my last Viewpoint column before the election. In light of this, I want to take the opportunity to highlight some of the changes that will be occurring in our electorate and clarify my position on Penlink.

Towards the end of last year, the Representation Commission released its proposed electorate boundaries for the 2020 and 2023 General Elections (HM December 4, 2019). Rodney is one of 35 electorates affected. Under the proposed changes, we will lose the northern part of our electorate, effectively Warkworth and the Kowhai Coast, to the current seat of Helensville. The southern part of our electorate will be comprised of the Hibiscus Coast and Coatesville.

Although it is a bitter blow for me to lose the northern part of the electorate, I remain committed to advancing the projects I am involved in alongside the new MP Chris Penk who took over from John Key in 2017. I am happy to welcome Coatesville to our electorate as my Grandfather owned a farm on Glenmore Road where I spent many hours clearing manuka and grubbing thistles. I still have family living on the original farm, even though it has long been developed, and enjoy strong links to the Coatesville community.

In our area, there have been three major infrastructure projects that I have dedicated myself to: The Puhoi to Warkworth Road of National Significance, the Hill Street roundabout and Penlink. I was able to deliver the Puhoi to Warkworth in my first term and you can see the results with construction well underway. I was able to solve the Hill Street roundabout by forming my Transport Forum, which brought the community together, alongside Auckland Transport and NZTA. We were able to secure the initial design funding which was then carried on through the Community Action Group. I am pleased to report that a final plan for the construction of the Hill Street roundabout has been delivered and the consenting and property acquisition process is underway.

Regarding Penlink, at the last general election I announced at a local candidates’ meeting that we would start Penlink in 2018 but that it would be two lanes. The Labour, NZ First and Greens candidates at the same meeting would not commit to building Penlink.

Unfortunately with the change of Government, important infrastructure projects, like Penlink, took a back seat. The Government stopped or stalled virtually all of the former Government’s plans to keep NZ moving and growing. After two years of relentless pressure from the opposition, the Government announced an infrastructure package just a day after setting the election date. The good news is this package includes a two lane Penlink. The bad news is the start date isn’t until the end of 2021.

Penlink is one of the few projects in Auckland ready to go now. We have already lost the last two years and an end of 2021 start date means we are five years behind where we should have been. I am aware that people in our community are tired of the endless cycle of promises on Penlink. That is why I have always been careful not to set false hope or expectations until I was sure that I could deliver. This year I will be reaffirming that if we return to government, we will start work on a four lane Penlink immediately.