The Far North District Council is backing a petition calling for a citizen-initiated referendum to address funding shortfalls for state highway maintenance.
The Far North District Council is backing a petition calling for a citizen-initiated referendum to address funding shortfalls for state highway maintenance.
Two Northland councils, the new Northland MP, and road safety advocates are backing a petition that could drive a referendum to address the condition of the country’s crumbling state highways.
The New Plymouth District Council sparked the petition calling for a citizen-initiated referendum to address funding shortfalls for state highwaymaintenance.
The petition asks: “Should the New Zealand government fund road maintenance at levels sufficient to reverse the current decline in the average age and condition of our national state highway network?”
AA Northland District Council chairwoman Tracey Rissetto said the council had long been “strongly advocating” for increased spending on the maintenance of both local and state highway roading infrastructure.
Although the referendum, if it went ahead, was non-binding, “it sends a key message to the incoming government … our roads need more attention”, she said.
“The level of frustration that motorists and other road users around the country are experiencing regarding the state of our roads can be seen by a local council initiating this petition,” Rissetto said.
“AA surveys of our members show the same thing - the state of the nation’s roads, and the number of potholes appearing in them, is the number one concern of members.”
Rissetto said road maintenance should be the “number one priority” for the new National-led government to address.
“The outgoing government has increased the funding going to road maintenance, but growing demand and increasing costs means further increases are necessary, and that is the challenge for the incoming government.”
AA Northland District Council chairwoman Tracey Rissetto said the state of the nation's roads, and the number of potholes appearing in them, is the number one concern of members. Photo / Tania Whyte
New Plymouth Mayor Neil Holdom sparked the referendum petition earlier this year after becoming fed up with the state of the country’s highways.
If 10 per cent of the New Zealand electorate agrees with the question it would trigger a citizens-initiated referendum.
However, it would be non-binding, meaning the government wouldn’t have to act on it.
The Far North District Council’s new transport committee Te Koukou agreed the petition should be promoted.
Far North Mayor Moko Tepania said he “took his hat off to Mayor Holdom”.
The Far North had seen a “steady decline” in road maintenance funding over the years, Tepania said.
“It’s an awesome way for councils to send a message to central government that we need our roads to be funded appropriately.
“Our highways are unsafe and at risk of critical failure because we don’t have the funding to bring our roads up to an acceptable and safe standard or the funding to maintain them.”
Tepania said there needed to be a better funding model, as currently projects such as regional rail and public transport came out of the road transport fund.
“They need to take a serious look at how roading is funded so we can get back on track.
“There are no realistic alternatives for people in the Far North when it comes to public transport - they have to use the roads.”
Far North Mayor Moko Tepania, whose council backs the petition, said the Far North had seen a steady decline in road maintenance funding over the years. Photo / Tania Whyte
Kaipara District Council also supports the petition as another avenue to advocate for better roading with central government.
“It’s one of the most critical issues we’ve got in our district,” Mayor Craig Jepson said.
“The roading network is substandard; every time the Brynderwyns goes out it costs over $1 million a day to our economy.
“You’ve only got to drive from Puhoi to Warkworth on the new motorway to see what quality of road we need.
“Ultimately that’s what the North needs to prosper.”
Northland Potholes Facebook page founder John Baird was “optimistic and cynical” about the likelihood of change coming from the petition.
“The intent behind it is good, though you’d think they could have had a grown-up conversation without having to organise a petition.
“That said, if it helps that’s fantastic.
“It’s bringing attention to the issue in a different way and that can’t be a bad thing.”
New Northland MP Grant McCallum said he was supportive of the petition to improve road maintenance, which is why National had earlier committed to a pothole repair fund.
In July National pledged to pour $500 million over three years into a Pothole Repair Fund to address what it called the “shocking state of our local roads and state highways”.
McCallum couldn’t say when some of the pothole fund would be spent in Northland, as his party “had to form a government first”.
New Northland MP Grant McCallum said he was supportive of the petition to improve road maintenance, which is why National had earlier committed to a pothole repair fund. Photo / Tania Whyte
But the first thing he wanted to do as Northland MP was get an understanding of Northland’s state highways from Waka Kotahi.
“I want to understand from NZTA, what the plan is to upgrade the quality and surfaces of Northland roads, to bring us up to a respectable standard similar to the rest of the country.”
McCallum said he’d be pushing for an improvement in the region’s road surface quality over the next term.
“People should be able to drive on our roads without destroying their cars, their wheel rims, and their tyres. It’s a disgrace.
“It’s fascinating to me that friends of mine and people who come to Northland can’t believe the quality of our roads ... they say it’s rubbish, and I say ‘welcome to our world’.”
Apart from stretches of vital state highways being repeatedly closed due to bad weather, cutting the region off from the rest of the country, Northland road safety is the worst of any region, with one of the highest rates of fatal and serious head-on or run- off-road crashes.
WhangāreiMayor Vince Cocurullo said the council “fully supports efforts to increase investment in our roading network”.
“Signing a petition asking for government to hold a referendum on increasing funding is one way to do that.
“Our council will consider the matter formally.”
The petition is available at Far North District Council service centres.
Jenny Ling is a news reporter and features writer for the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering health, food, lifestyle, business and animal welfare issues.
