Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Alan McDonald: Employers and Manufacturers Association head of advocacy on the National Land Transport Plan

Transcript

Alan McDonald: Employers and Manufacturers Association head of advocacy on the National Land Transport Plan · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Sorry, cyclists, roads for cars and trucks are getting the
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: lines here of transport money through to twenty twenty seven.
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: By the way, we tried to get labor on about
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: this to see whether they were zen kombaya with the government,
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: but no response from them. However, thirty three billion dollars
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: announced yesterday over three years Auckland a big winner. Seven
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: billion for state highway improvements, five point five billion for
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: pothole prevention, us just prevention, six point four million on
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: new public transport, walking, cycling. The funding has been harved.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Alan McDonald is the Employees and Manufacturers Association head of
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Advocacy and strategy. Allen, good morning, morning Roll. I mean
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: you'll obviously be pleased about the spending on some of
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: these roads, and particularly some of these routes the alternative
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: to the Brindwans. How important is.
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: That, Oh, that's very important for unlocking the potential. It's
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: a Northland but also just getting some of those exports
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: to and from not just Auckland but through to Tower
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: as well. And as we're seeing with the terrible weather
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: events in the recent couple of years, that road there's
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: just such a vital link and it's basically at times
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: falling down literally?
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: Can you are you confident that we can get the
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: work done for the price that is being claimed, just
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: given cost blowouts on writing projects. I mean, do you
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: have faith when you see plans like this?
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: I'd like to have faith that they'd get underway the
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: costs themselves. Like any major project anywhere around the world,
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: is subject to cost pressures, so it's not something that's
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: unique to New Zealand. You tend to see these things
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: as well. That's roughly what it costs today, but by
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: the time we get it done, what's it going to cost? Yeah?
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: The National Land Transport Program is what they've announced. As
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: we mentioned, it's thirty three billion and it just lists
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: the priorities in terms of, you know, where they want
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: to start and get the shovel in the ground, that
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: kind of thing. Are you disappointed that there's not more
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: agreement between political parties on what needs funding.
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: I think we're getting to that point where everybody agrees
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: that we need some kind of not a consensus because
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: you're never going to get that, but some kind of
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: broad agreement on what the main priorities should be. And
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: I think it's critical really if we're going to extract
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: the value that we want from these projects and help
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: keep some of the cost down. That we do get
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: some kind of broad framework agreed and we stick to
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: it because it's the constant or the consistent, Oh we're
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: going to do this, but we're coming and we're not
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: going to do that. And it's that kind of flip
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: flopping and direction or even wiping out projects that costs
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: the country more money and intrustrates people that want to
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: use these things to know.
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: Allen, thank you for that. Alan McDonald's who's the I
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: should say the Employees and Manufacturers Association.
• 3:00
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• 3:03
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• 3:05
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