The ACT candidate for Northland has called out NZ First leader Winston Peters, saying that an upgrade of the Northern rail link was conspicuously missing from his 2014 election promises.
ACT Northland candidate Robin Grieve says a rail link would come at the expense of the Puhoi to Wellsford motorway and would be a poor substitute for cutting travel time to Auckland.
“In a speech last year announcing New Zealand First’s transport policy, Mr Peters promised rail upgrades to regions and cities all over the country, but nothing for Northland,” says Grieve.
“He totally forgot us. The Napier to Gisborne line was to be reopened, the Auckland suburban rail line to be electrified, Wellington to be extended to Levin and Wairarapa, and Canterbury upgraded.
“Northland was truly forgotten by him and New Zealand First. Now he wants our vote, we in Northland are suddenly important to him. Presumably the people of Napier to Gisborne are not important anymore.
“The rail link will come at the expense of the Puhoi to Wellsford motorway. It would be a poor substitute to a modern motorway which will cut travel time to Auckland, reduce the cost of goods transported in to our region and increase the value of goods we sell.
“It is vital that the motorway go ahead and that the MP that represents our region has a genuine interest in us, instead of being someone who has forgotten us for thirty years and then makes promises he can’t meet.”
Winston Peters’ original speech can be read here
