Transport hurry-up for Auckland region

By MATHEW DEARNALEY

The Government is cracking the whip on Auckland to appoint a new regional transport agency - or have it imposed from Wellington.

It will give the Auckland Regional Council and the region's seven city and district councils until the end of August to appoint directors to the new agency, which will be in charge of planning and procuring all public transport services and local roads.

The proposed Auckland Regional Transport Authority will also give advice to the Government funding agency Transfund on priorities for new state highways in the region, although Transit New Zealand will retain responsibility for these.

If local leaders miss their deadline, the Government will make its own appointments to ensure a running start for the new authority. It will install an interim chairman to oversee the agency's establishment between now and August.

Legislation introduced to Parliament yesterday as a condition of the Government's promised $1.62 billion boost to the region's transport system will entrench the Auckland Regional Council as the agency's overall controller.

But city and district councils will be given a greater say over its composition than initially proposed, although they will have no influence on how it operates.

Describing the legislative package as a watershed for the region, ministers offered Aucklanders the alternative lure of a "world-class" system, as long as regional and local authorities continued to meet their share of transport funding.

They confirmed plans to raise petrol tax by 5.6c a litre in April next year, a move which will also boost transport spending in other regions by $1.3 billion over the next decade.

The tax will be indexed to inflation.

In return, the Government will let the transport money start flowing next April.

Five ministers, in a statement headed by Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen, said they had refined earlier proposals after discussions with local bodies.

Although the regional council will still get more seats than the local bodies on the new transport authority's appointments panel, a requirement for candidates to gain a minimum of 10 votes means they will need the backing of at least two cities or districts.

The Government has won support from the region's mayors for the new agency.

But the mayors are unhappy about a parallel arrangement under which Infrastructure Auckland will have its more than $1 billion of public assets, including Ports of Auckland, folded into another new regional council subsidiary.

They are dismayed that the council will be allowed to spend up to 15 per cent of income from the proposed Auckland Regional Holdings on other than transport and stormwater needs.

All Infrastructure Auckland's grants had to be for transport or stormwater projects.

A spokesman for Local Government Minister Chris Carter said the 15 per cent was to give the council flexibility to deal with "the unexpected" and could be reviewed after 2007 if it was abused.

But regional council chairwoman Gwen Bull said all the money would be spent on transport and stormwater.

The plan

* The new Auckland Regional Transport Authority will plan for and provide public transport services and local roads, and recommend priorities for new state highways.

* This is a condition of a funding boost to the region of $1.62 billion over 10 years, partly funded by a 5.6c a litre rise in petrol tax in 12 months.

* The new authority will get money from the Government funding agency Transfund and the regional council, raised from rates and from investment income from assets such as Ports of Auckland.

* Future cash sources may include road tolls or parking levies.