Brian Rudman: Chuckle time is over, Dr Cullen - get us moving

COMMENT

Not so long ago, Finance Minister Michael Cullen was entertaining by-election audiences in Taranaki with anti-Auckland quips.

"Auckland now sits atop the nation like a great crushing weight."

"The rest of New Zealand does not have a congestion problem, Auckland does ... "

Today the same Dr Cullen heads the Government first-aid team going into Jafaland to cure this congestion.

And he is keen to succeed, as well he might be.

He knows that if his medicine fails, Auckland's voters could end up crushing not only New Zealand but the Government's dreams of a third term.

On the eve of his emergency dash, the Automobile Association unveiled a timely survey of Aucklanders' attitudes to transport funding. It reveals the scale of the selling job the Government faces.

Of the 775 people surveyed, 89 per cent supported completion of the region's long-planned road and public transport network, most wanting it done sooner than the 2015 to 2020 deadline. But only 14 per cent wanted to pay more.

A large majority - 78 per cent - said the answer was for the Government to spend more of existing petrol tax money on transport and less on other services.

This was after it was explained to them that only 18c of the 53c a litre petrol tax now goes towards transport.

Asked which Government spending should suffer as a result, the response was emphatic.

Forty-four per cent said cut social welfare expenditure, closely followed by 40 per cent who fingered defence.

When pushed on which revenue-raising options they might support if it meant completing the network by 2010, 30 per cent of those surveyed rejected the three on offer - tolls, increased fuel taxes or increased rates.

Another 18 per cent supported some sort of combination. Of the rest, only 3 per cent favoured higher rates, 16 per cent an extra fuel tax and 33 per cent a toll on specific roads.

The pollsters, Research Solutions, broke Aucklanders into four "mindsets" on the issue of completing the network.

* The 19 per cent who feel strongly that the Government should pay and would rather wait than contribute.

* The 34 per cent who would rather wait than pay, but won't stand in the way of those wanting completion, to pay for it, preferably through tolls.

* The 22 per cent willing to pay something, but through petrol taxes rather than tolls.

* The 25 per cent who want completion sooner rather than later and are willing to pay through tolls.

Not surprisingly, survey author Debra Hall finds it hard to come up with the magic answer.

"It will be difficult to achieve a funding mechanism which will gain widespread support from the Auckland community," she says.

I think Ms Hall is being too pessimistic and is ignoring the pragmatic nature and short memories of most Aucklanders.

If the Government does pull off a miracle today with its package and the cars and trains do start moving at rush hour, we'll all be so busy on our hands and knees in praise that there'll be no one worrying about where the money came from..

From the details so far gleaned, today's Government offering is a mix and match of the options favoured in the AA poll.

It has a new 5.8c a litre petrol tax which most of us will not even notice, with an equal-sized "grant" from Government coffers.

The Government will want us to feel grateful about the grant, but in truth it's long-awaited recompense for the years of underfunding when a National Party Government forced Aucklanders to pay for the unnecessary over-paving of marginal rural electorates.

Toll roads are also likely to be raised today, but as a money-raiser in the Auckland situation they seem a waste of effort, particularly as the Government says an alternative free route must be available.

Putting the extra money to one side, the biggest breakthrough in this package is the promise of an end to the Balkanisation of Auckland transport governance.

Having one transport authority controlling and guiding the region's public transport brings hope of an end to the present chaos.

Responsibility for roading was to have been part of the authority's brief, but this has reportedly been left in the too-hard basket.

If I'm proven wrong on this today I'll be delighted. But anything's better than the present set-up.

With the new structure unveiled, all we now need is for the trains - and buses and cars - to run on time. Let us dream.