Mayor Phil Goff to Committee on Infrastructure Funding: Fund it Fast and Fair
On 28 February, Mayor Phil Goff shared with the Committee his priorities around key issues for Auckland. Thank you to Committee member PwC for hosting this event at their premises.
The Mayor focused his comments on the pressing issue of infrastructure funding brought about by the city’s growth pressures.
Phil Goff underlined that Auckland is growing by 45,000 people per year, adding the equivalent of a Wanganui every year and a Tauranga every three years. He said that Auckland must tackle the issue immediately. Consider for example, he said, how quickly the ‘clip-on’ lanes had to be added to the Auckland Harbour bridge (4 lanes lasted 9 years), or how a two-hour commute from the airport to the CBD is a tourist’s first NZ experience; (‘We at least need a busway,’ he said. ‘Light rail being the long term solution’.).
The Mayor’s central line on funding was that the Council was unable to fund the infrastructure deficit through rates, that it isn’t a smart or fair mechanism, or by borrowing more given the Council’s debt to revenue ceiling (256% / ceiling is 265%) and additional borrowing would put the council’s AA credit rating at risk. He said that the infrastructure shortfall requires new revenue.
Phil Goff said that the infrastructure shortfall requires new revenue and recognised that the Council does need to provide a share of those costs, but he was looking to Government for practical solutions that can be implemented quickly and help Auckland grow.
Mayor Goff believes there has to be a user-pays component to infrastructure funding rather than relying on rates which bear no correlation to people’s usage of Auckland’s roads. Given that the Government had declined to reinstate a regional fuel tax, the mayor was open to a congestion tax which the Government favoured, but was wary of the time lag to implementation (at least five years). He said Auckland can’t afford to delay and he was in discussions with government about faster solutions.
Another option, suggested by The Mayor, was handing ownership of some key roads around Auckland to the government. He said this would help ease the debt burden on Auckland and allow the Council to invest in other parts of the transport system.
On asset recycling, the mayor said the Council is selling down its diversified investment portfolio and selling some minor assets, but that selling more significant assets was not on the table. On the Port, Mr. Goff was encouraging the government to proceed with an upper North Island port strategy and for the Ports of Auckland to work with Tauranga and North Port, to find long-term solutions to Port capacity and the need to grow. He ruled out further expansion of the Port over and above its current footprint.
Further discussions centred around housing, wastewater and the environment.
Watch this space for more news on our next series of events coming soon!
