I can honestly say the transport projects supported by the Provincial Growth Fund have given me both the greatest pleasure and the greatest frustration as Minister for Regional Economic Development.
The greatest pleasure because the almost $800 million we have allocated to transport from the $3 billion PGF will go to projects that will make a big difference to road, rail and air users throughout the country.
Those projects will underpin economic growth in many regions as they make it easier for companies to shift freight out of and into the provinces, and tourists and other travellers to move around the country.
The greatest frustration comes from my difficulty in speeding up the process for approving and constructing roads and major road improvements.
We can see the results from the allocation of more than $500 million spending on KiwiRail almost immediately.
Their projects are usually shovel ready with few additional cumbersome regulatory or bureaucratic process hurdles to navigate.
This means the Government as funders of those projects, the people who operate KiwiRail and the people who depend on the company to carry freight or tourists, can see improvements in the service provided very quickly.
We have already carried out the work needed to re-open the Napier to Wairoa rail line.
We have already started work on the improvements needed to ensure the Northland rail line can upgrade freight services to that region.
These changes will have a relatively rapid impact, moving much heavy freight to rail and reducing pressure on each region’s roading network.
Similarly, our first two airport remodelling projects, at Kerikeri and Gisborne, are either complete or well under way, with both new terminals replacing long outdated and cramped facilities.
By contrast, the pace at which the PGF-funded road projects move forward is glacial, with progress determined by legacy bureaucratic processes.
We have allocated $139 million in Tairawhiti, but spending that money will take five years.
The Gisborne district has a major plantation forestry resource.
Sometimes it seems every second vehicle is carrying logs to the port or are vans carrying forestry crews to their next harvesting assignment.
The wear and tear on the roads, especially local roads dependent on funding from local government, is huge.
Harvesting and transporting that region’s projected “wall of wood” as forests mature will only increase the pressure on the roading network.
And, both main roads, the main arteries for travellers and freight into and out of the region, are through difficult terrain that requires continual improvement and maintenance to be safe and serviceable.
In short, this is a region that requires continual major investment to maintain its heavily road-dependent economy but has been starved of that investment by successive governments.
At the same time the local council, with a relatively small rating base, has been unable to match its spending on local roads to the damage caused by the logging trucks which carry its major export crop to the Port of Gisborne.
But, and I repeat, to repair the deficit and put in place significant improvements to state highways will take all of five years.
We have had some success in working with the Gisborne District Council to speed up the projects on local roads but I remain frustrated at the overall pace of work over the wider region.
Another area of high need because of neglect over many years is the Kaipara, in Northland.
The Kaipara Kickstart projects are relatively modest with PGF funding of $14.4 million but work on the first of the projects within this package doesn’t start till the middle of next year, with two others starting in late 2020 and the others not beginning until 2021 at the earliest.
Our $22 million roading package for the Hawke’s Bay will upgrade roads for use by High Productivity Motor Vehicles and also upgrade the route from Waipukarau to Porangahau, but there is no start date in sight for any of these projects.
Who knew it would be so hard to help the regions help themselves?
There is faster progress on other roading projects.
Our three West Coast projects funded with more than $13 million from the PGF are all beginning this year or next.
The Waipapa roundabout project in Kerikeri, something the community has sought for well over 20 years, began last month.
I am an optimist and believe the regions will flourish when they have the means to realise the potential of their people and resources, something they have been deprived of for too long.
This means, among other things, ensuring they have good transport networks.
Our work with the PGF has made significant progress towards this goal, particularly upgrading our long-neglected rail network.
While I am frustrated with the progress on our roading projects, they will in time be completed and make the contribution needed for regions to flourish.
Rest assured, I will continue my work to speed up progress on these projects so the benefits they bring can be realised much faster.
