KEY POINTS:
Michael Cullen's Budget spells goodbye to what critics say is the cargo cult mentality that threatened preparations for Auckland to host Rugby World Cup 2011.
He had already seen off an attempt by Trevor Mallard to splash $500 million-plus on a new waterfront stadium to be built in time for the World Cup final.
Treasury officials, horrified at the way the Economic Development Minister barged ahead, played their part in scuttling the proposal. But it was the Auckland Regional Council's Mike Lee who delivered the fatal blow when his council vetoed the use of Ports of Auckland's wharf space.
Fiscal discipline has since been imposed on Eden Park, with the Government underwriting the $190 million needed to complete its upgrade. The fact that this is nearly half the $385 million the Eden Park Trust Board originally sought will be music to Cullen's ears.
Several other projects that various promoters hoped to hang off the World Cup are being re-thought. One of them - the electrification of Auckland's rail network - has been strongly promoted by Mike Lee.
When the waterfront stadium was being debated there were suggestions Lee might accede to Mallard's plan if he could get electrification ticked off.
But what Cabinet has ultimately ticked off comes with a caveat.
As well as the Government's $500 million investment in rail throughout the country, Auckland will be able to use income from a levy on regional fuel sales toward the project. But this will require the ARC or any successor to with impose a fuel price rise that many Aucklanders disagree with.
Costings have yet to be done, but the project is thought to be in the $1 billion plus category.
That is not deterring the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (an ARC subsidiary). ARTA's new chairman is understood to have made it clear he would not agree to a 2011 deadline just for the World Cup. Mark Ford believed it was more important to get the planning and costings right, rather than try to meet unrealistic deadlines. Transport Minister Annette King agreed and a 2013 completion date is now being promoted.
Auckland Mayor Dick Hubbard also wants to start work on an underground rail loop turning Britomart into a through station and taking pressure off the downtown site. But this is unlikely to be done before World Cup.
Indeed, it is hard to predict just what will be finished in time for the World Cup.
Auckland International Airport CEO Don Huse has been leading a project to make the route between the airport and the CBD a faster drive for incoming tourists. But this relies on regulatory mindshifts that are unlikely unless there is significant shift in Auckland's governance.
The major disappointment in Cullen's eighth Budget is that it contains no real hint of how the Government believes Auckland should be governed. Central government accepts that change must happen quickly to strip out the bureaucracy and duplication of services that are pushing up local rates and service charges.
But there's no sign that the Government has the mettle for a rationalisation before October's local government elections. Frankly, it needs to do so.
Most of these projects should have been completed years ago. Melbourne, after all, was able to complete a raft of upgrades before the Commonwealth Games.
But until Auckland's governance structure is sorted and it takes charge of itself, cargo cult accusations will continue to fly.
