Banks set to roll on roads

By BERNARD ORSMAN

New Auckland Mayor John Banks is vowing to make the city safer and start work immediately on two new motorways.

Mr Banks told the Herald that planning work was starting today on building a motorway through the eastern suburbs.

He also wants to get going on extending State Highway 20 through Prime Minister Helen Clark's electorate of Mt Albert.

"I hope to have made good progress [on the eastern motorway] by Christmas," Mr Banks said.

But his action plan ran into resistance last night from the Prime Minister, who warned that the mayor's powers over roading were limited.

Mr Banks beat sitting mayor Christine Fletcher by more than 15,000 votes for the biggest council job in New Zealand, but poor voter turnout plagued the country, particularly in the main centres, where it was between 43 per cent and 56 per cent.

This was the lowest turnout in the past five elections, prompting Local Government Minister Sandra Lee to call for compulsory voting.

"New Zealanders just have to put their hands up when it comes to local government and admit that they're apathetic and indifferent."

Mr Banks, a former National Party police minister turned civic leader, has a majority on the new-look Auckland City Council to drive through his motorway plans in preference to a new rail system for Auckland.

He also has the strong backing of a new group of pro-roading councillors on the Auckland Regional Council, including Chamber of Commerce chief executive Michael Barnett.

But Helen Clark, who entered Parliament in 1981 with Mr Banks and who said she got along well with the former cabinet minister, said decisions on motorways were for central Government agencies and part of the overall complexity of roading decisions.

Transit NZ's Auckland state highway strategy is based on a 10-year road-building programme and the word from Wellington is that the Government regards this timetable as over-ambitious and unaffordable.

To give an example of the difficulty of Mr Banks' promises, the extension of State Highway 20 is not scheduled to start until 2008 - one year after Mr Banks' and Mr Barnett's 2007 deadline for completing the motorway network.

National Party transport spokeswoman Belinda Vernon said Mr Banks had a strong mandate to deliver on a "more roads" platform and she predicted that he would not put up with Government dithering.

In Grey Lynn on Saturday night, Mr Banks told a group of 200 supporters, including former mayor Les Mills and Christian leader Graeme Lee, that it would not be business as usual at the council.

"It is time for change and there is going to be some positive leadership for a better Auckland ... I'm going to work hard for the next three years to prove my value to those people who didn't have the confidence to vote for me this time."

Mr Banks has also promised to clean up the central business district and if necessary close off Queen St and the Auckland Domain to "boy racers" on Friday and Saturday nights.

Mr Banks has said he could work with Helen Clark and her Government, despite the spat that has broken out with the Minister for Auckland Issues, Judith Tizard.

Ms Tizard said the jury was out on whether Mr Banks was "mad", given past racial comments dug up by Mrs Fletcher during a sometimes dirty campaign.

He responded that he needed to sit down and talk with Ms Tizard.

Mrs Fletcher, whose 1998 vote of 48,181 collapsed to 31,314 in this election, was gracious in defeat and wished Mr Banks well. She said she "prayed for tolerance".

Mrs Fletcher said not being able to desert her duties as mayor and go out campaigning, having a complex message to sell and a three-week postal ballot contributed to her downfall.

She believed that a return to polling booths on a set day would stimulate interest in the election buildup and improve voter turnout.

After losing 45 years' control of the Auckland council in 1998, the new-look Citizens and Ratepayers ticket, combined with Auckland Now, won nine of the 20 seats. With Mr Banks in the mayoral seat, the right has a working majority. City Vision and Labour hold six seats.

High-profile councillor Victoria Carter was re-elected on a new Team Auckland ticket and the other three seats are held by independents.

Elsewhere in Auckland, George Wood broke a one-term jinx that has stricken North Shore City mayors by holding off a challenge from environmentalist Dr Joel Cayford; Sir Barry Curtis became New Zealand's longest serving mayor in a major city when he won a seventh term in Manukau City; and Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey won a fourth term. Of the other Greater Auckland mayors, Heather Maloney (Franklin) and David Buist (Papakura) comfortably won re-election.

In the Waikato and Bay of Plenty, nine new mayors swept to power - including two newcomers to local body politics.

In the biggest upset, rookie Jan Beange, Tauranga's first woman mayor, snatched victory from under the nose of incumbent deputy mayor and election favourite Stuart Crosby by 1822 votes.

In Taupo, Clayton Stent also made his council debut at the top with a 1383-vote sweep.

In Hamilton, businessman David Braithwaite ousted one-term mayor Russ Rimmington.

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