$600m to upgrade rail network
Rail Minister Winston Peters says a programme to replace decades-old bridges, culverts and other assets with long-lasting infrastructure is also now funded. Photo: RNZ
The government will spend more than $600 million to upgrade the country's rail network as part of this year's Budget.
The funding includes $461m to maintain and improve freight rail, and more than $140m to replace and upgrade metropolitan rail in Auckland and Wellington.
Transport Minister Chris Bishop said rail services had been made less reliable by a backlog of overdue upgrades.
"Metro rail investment in Auckland and Wellington will improve the level of service for passengers by addressing overdue and critical renewals work. The poor state of our metro networks has flow-on impacts for performance.
"For example, temporary speed restrictions are often needed as a safety precaution, leading to increased travel times and disrupting service schedules."
Councils in Auckland and Wellington would need to meet their fair share of costs to deliver on rail services, Bishop said.
"The Budget investment in metro rail will continue to support delivery of modern networks that are more reliable, can be efficiently maintained, ease congestion on the busiest parts of the network, and allow for increased future demand."
Meanwhile, Rail Minister Winston Peters said a programme to replace decades-old bridges, culverts and other assets with long-lasting infrastructure was also now funded.
"The Rail Network Investment Programme for 2024-2027 is now funded, meaning maintenance, network operations, asset renewals and modest improvements are funded. We want railways to succeed for this country - rail freight backs our business, and business backs our cities and provinces."
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RNZ News
6 hours ago
- RNZ News
'Kick in the guts': Government knocks back most of Christchurch council's housing plans
Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger says the government's knock-back of the council's housing plans is a "kick in the guts". Photo: RNZ/Nathan Mckinnon The mayor of Christchurch says a government knock-back on it's three year battle to create a custom carve-out of national housing intensification rules feels like a "kick in the guts", but others are welcoming the certainty of the move. On Friday, Minister for Resource Management Act Reform Chris Bishop issued a final decision on 17 of 20 recommendations the city council had referred after rejecting recommendations from an independent panel on the council's plan to shape a bespoke Christchurch response to national housing density policy). Minister Bishop rejected the bulk of the council's proposals. In 2021, the then-government released its National Policy Statement on Urban Development, a plan to ramp up housing intensification across most urban areas but focused on the five high growth centres of Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington and Christchurch, amid bi-partisan support for the Resource Management (Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters) Amendment Bill, though the National Party would later withdraw its backing . The bill contained Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS), which detail what development can occur without the need for resource consent, public notification and consultation in the areas identified as most in need of housing intensification. Those rules were intended to apply across all residential zones in those identified cities, unless "qualifying matters" made intensification inappropriate. In 2022, the council voted to reject the standards , despite warnings a commissioner could be appointed . Instead, the council began several years of consultation, submissions and hearings on Plan Change 14 - its proposed changes to the district plan that would give effect to the Medium Density Residential Standards, but in a way it claimed better acknowledged the character and context of the city. The council temporarily halted the process following the last election, and was later granted an extension until the end of this year on some aspescts of the plan change. Minister Bishop declined a further extension request last month. The council's stance culminated in an Independent Hearing Panel (IHP), which reported back in the middle of last year. The council accepted the majority of the IHP's recommendations, which were incorporated into the district plan. But it rejected various aspects of the proposed plan, making twenty counter-recommendations that went to the Minister. The minister announced on Friday he had rejected 14 of the council's recommendations, accepted three and deferred his decision on three more. Minister for Resource Management Act Reform Chris Bishop has rejected the bulk of the council's proposals. Photo: VNP/Louis Collins The decision means some parts of the city will be zoned higher-density housing and taller buildings, while the council will not be allowed to use several different "qualifying matters" to refuse consents even in high density zones - most controversially, one that hinged on the impediment of sunlight and proposed the Garden City should get an exemption because its southern location meant sunlight angles differ. Bishop's announcement locks in changes for areas in and around the CBD, and the "town centres" of Riccarton, Hornby and Linwood, which will be zoned high density residential. Taller buildings will be allowed within 600 metres of shopping areas in some suburbs - 32m (around ten storeys high) for the Hornby shopping area, 14m for high density residential zones surrounding the shopping area, 22m (around six storeys) for Linwood's town centre, and 14m for high density residential zones around it. The council's bids to create qualifying matters on the basis of sunlight access, recession planes (a line or plane which limits how close a building can be to a property boundary), or by location - such as 'the City Spine' (major transport routes) or Riccarton Bush - also failed. Nor did the minster accept areas around Peer Street in Ilam or the Papanui War Memorial Avenues should be excluded from density rules or allowed special consideration. The council proposals the minister did accept were Local Centre Intensification Precinct - intensification around eight of the city's commercial centres, including Barrington, Prestons and Wigram; increasing the building height overlay for the former stock yards site on Deans Avenue (a prime spot adjacent to Hagley Park, currently used as car parking for the Christchurch Hospital shuttle service) to up to 36m; and allowing high density residential zoning for Milton Street (the site of the Milton St substation, which Fletchers plans to build 80 homes on). All other council alternative recommendations were rejected in favour of the hearing panel recommendations. The minister has deferred decision-making for the heritage listing for Daresbury - a historic home in Fendalton; Antonio Hall - a derelict historic home on Riccarton Rd; and Piko Character Area - a Riccarton residential neighbourhood made up of many original state houses from the 1930s - until the council decided on the underlying zoning. "In putting these decisions forward to the government, we obviously wanted to get all of our alternative recommendations approved. So to only have three of them get the tick is a kick in the guts," mayor Phil Mauger said. "This plan change has been a huge undertaking for our city, and we've said right the way through that we want to get the best outcome we possibly can. This doesn't feel like the best outcome. "To that end, we'll keep working hard as a council, and there are still major decisions yet to be made when it comes to housing density and planning across much of Christchurch, so watch this space." The decisions come into effect immediately and cannot be appealed to the Environment Court. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon New Zealand has one of the most unaffordable housing markets in the OECD. Urbanist collective Greater Ōtautahi welcomed the minister's decision. Chairperson M Grace-Stent said the decision finally brought some certainty after years of delays, decision making, submissions and hearing panels. "What we're most excited about is that Ōtautahi Christchurch is set up for the future, it has certainty around where it can grow and where it can continue to develop in the future." The decision will not mean apartment buildings spring up overnight, they said. "It's still going to be a slow developing process, just as our cities always continually change. This is just another step." The city also needed to turn its attention to improving public transport. "Ōtautahi Christchurch definitely needs a reevaluation of its transport system. We've been calling for the introduction of mass rapid transport across the city to support and facilitate the kind of growth and development that needs to happen, and to make sure that everyone has a choice about how they're getting around the city and aren't forced to just pick cars." Grace-Stent said the debate touched on ideas embedded in the national psyche about how and where New Zealanders live. They said the quarter-acre dream of a stand alone house on a large section is unsustainable and doesn't not always produce greater social outcomes. "Not everyone wants to live the exact same lifestyle - allowing more housing to be built allows people to make that choice for themselves. So if people want to be living on 1/4 acre block, they're allowed to, and if people want to be living in an apartment close to their friends and amenities and where they work, they also have that choice." They acknowledged that some medium and high density housing is not built to high standards, but said some of that was due to limitations of the current zoning process, which can mean the lowest bidder builds on these sites. "This is just the first step into assuring that everyone has a home that is liveable and that works for them, and is good quality. There also needs to be changes throughout the way that we are think about housing and building houses across the country," Grace-Stent said. The decisions, which come into effect immediately, are final and cannot be appealed to the Environment Court. The council has until the end of the year to decide on density rules for the rest of the city. It was unable to confirm by deadline how much it had spent fighting the density rules, but had budgeted for $7 million dollars between 2021 and the middle of this year. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Otago Daily Times
6 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
To infinity and beyond with a possum and sweet chilli sauce
One of the things MPs like most about the Budget debate — the freewheeling discussion of the Finance Minister's hard work — is that it enables them to speak about almost anything so long as it can (sometimes very loosely) be linked back to the Budget. Hence this week our southern MPs have been talking about possums, utes, outer space, Barker's sweet chilli sauce ... and every so often about something of vital importance. On Tuesday Taieri Labour MP Ingrid Leary fell into the latter camp with an impassioned speech about the state of the nation's mental health system. "The Budget would have been the perfect opportunity to [workforce gaps], including the 1594 full-time equivalents that the NCAT — which is the National Committee for Addiction Treatment—has identified as missing from the NGO frontline," Ms Leary said. "But no, they did not. Instead, they threw a paltry bit of money to help the transition at emergency departments for the withdrawal of police. 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Up soon after, Taieri Green list MP Scott Willis warmed up on the topic of people feeling the cold as winter bit hard — although he might have sparked debate on his own side by talking about getting nice and cosy in front of a fire rather than being warmed up by an electric fire powered by solar or wind energy. "What really would have helped people and helped landlords, even, would have been support for warm, dry, energy-efficient homes," Mr Willis said. "But this government, over the last two Budgets, has cut over $230m from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority ... crippling the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority. Why has this government decided that ordinary Kiwis should be left out in the cold?" The next day the South's government MPs got to give an alternative, all together more enthusiastic appraisal of the Budget. Rather than wreaking havoc on all and sundry, Southland National MP Joseph Mooney extolled it for "balancing the New Zealand taxpayers' funds in a very considered and careful way in a challenging domestic and geopolitical environment." Funding such as new daytime urgent care services in places like Invercargill, Gore, and Alexandra found favour with Mr Mooney, as did the potential expansion of the service to Balclutha, Lumsden, Roxburgh and all places in between in the future. It was Mr Mooney who donned his space suit, noting Southlander Sir Peter Beck had made New Zealand the third-largest launcher of satellites into infinity and beyond. "He had a wild dream and made it happen in a country that did not have a space sector. I think that's an opportunity for all of us to lift our sights high, aim for the stars, and we can make it happen," he said, leaving unspoken but fairly obvious the assertion that the government was helping such firms to focus on the target. Leaving Waitaki MP Miles Anderson — no doubt well aware that many residents in Geraldine would like their town to instead be in the Rangitata electorate — to praise the fine products of Barker's of Geraldine. "I spoke this morning to the team at Barker's of Geraldine — and those of you who have had the opportunity to try some of their goods, I highly recommend them." "Great little place. Sweet chilli sauce," Otaki MP Tim Costley chimed in, a sentiment echoed from across the House. "They supply jams, preserves, and pickles to supermarkets across the country," Mr Anderson added, in his best infomercial manner. There was actually a point to all this spruiking: Mr Anderson wanted to use his time to boast about Investment Boost, the Budget's central policy for business growth. Enabling firms to immediately write off some of the cost of new equipment was a boon for an expanding business like Barker's, he said ... and that was not all for the great electorate of Waitaki. "Other local businesses are also having an increase in asset investment," Mr Anderson said. "Te Pari Industries tell me that they have seen an increase in interest for their products, and that farmers are making decisions much more quickly with both sheep and dairy systems. Drummond & Etheridge in Oamaru, local farm machinery retailers, saw an immediate increase in sales and a significant increase in buyer inquiry." And with a shout out to Five Forks School — pupils from which had visited the House the previous day and been acknowledged from the chamber — that was it for the Budget debate for another year. Half time, change sides Act New Zealand Southland list MP Todd Stephenson is poised to become the most recognisable backbencher in the country following the grand rearrangement of the House this week. With the coalition swapping deputy prime ministers, New Zealand First's MPs have moved to where Act once sat, and vice versa. As Act's whip, Mr Stephenson is now sitting in the second row alongside National chief whip Stuart Smith. That means that during Question Time — the only bit of Parliament that most New Zealanders catch a glimpse of — that Mr Stephenson is sitting right behind Christopher Luxon and David Seymour when the cameras roll.
Scoop
15 hours ago
- Scoop
The David Seymour ‘Bots' Debate: Do Online Submission Tools Help Or Hurt Democracy?
Article – RNZ The ACT leader's comments raise questions about how forms are changing the way people engage with politics. , (Ngāpuhi, Te Māhurehure, Ngāti Manu) Longform Journalist, Te Ao Māori A discussion document on a Regulatory Standards Bill is not, on the face of it, the sort of thing that might have been expected to prompt 23,000 responses. But in an age of digital democracy, the Ministry for Regulation was probably expecting it. The bill, led by ACT Party leader David Seymour, is controversial. It sparked a response from activists, who used online tools to help people make their opposition known. Of the 23,000 submissions, 88 percent were opposed. Seymour this week told RNZ's 'bots' generating 'fake' submissions. He did not provide evidence for the claim and later explained he wasn't referring to literal bots but to 'online campaigns' that generate 'non-representative samples' that don't reflect public opinion. Seymour has previous experience with this sort of thing. The Treaty Principles Bill got a record 300,000 submissions when it was considered by the Justice Committee earlier this year. Is Seymour right to have raised concerns about how these tools are affecting public debate? Or are they a boon for democracy? Submission tools used across the political spectrum Submission tools are commonly used by advocacy groups to mobilise public input during the select committee process. The online tools often offer a template for users to fill out or suggested wording that can be edited or submitted as is. Each submission is usually still sent by the individual. Taxpayers' Union spokesperson Jordan Williams said submitting to Parliament used to be 'pretty difficult'. 'You'd have to write a letter and things like that. What the tools do allow is for people to very easily and quickly make their voice heard.' The tools being used now are part of sophisticated marketing campaigns, Williams said. 'You do get pressure groups that take particular interest, and it blows out the numbers, but that doesn't mean that officials should be ruling them out or refusing to engage or read submissions.' The Taxpayers' Union has created submission tools in the past, but Williams said he isn't in favour of tools that don't allow the submitter to alter the submission. He has encouraged supporters to change the contents of the submission to ensure it is original. 'The ones that we are pretty suspicious of is when it doesn't allow the end user to actually change the submission, and in effect, it just operates like a petition, which I don't think quite has the same democratic value.' Clerk of the House of Representatives David Wilson said campaigns that see thousands of similar submissions on proposed legislation are not new, they've just taken a different form. 'It's happened for many, many years. It used to be photocopied forms. Now, often it's things online that you can fill out. And there's nothing wrong with doing that. It's a legitimate submission.' However, Wilson pointed out that identical responses would likely be grouped by the select committee and treated as one submission. 'The purpose of the select committee calling for public submissions is so that the members of the committee can better inform themselves about the issues. They're looking at the bill, thinking about whether it needs to be amended or whether it should pass. So if they receive the same view from hundreds of people, they will know that.' But that isn't to say those submissions are discredited, Wilson said. 'For example, the committee staff would say, you've received 10,000 submissions that all look exactly like this. So members will know how many there were and what they said. But I don't know if there's any point in all of the members individually reading the same thing that many times.' But Williams said there were risks in treating similar submissions created using 'tools' as one submission. 'Treating those ones as if they are all identical is not just wrong, it's actually undemocratic,' he said. 'It's been really concerning that, under the current parliament, they are trying to carte blanche, reject people's submissions, because a lot of them are similar.' AI should be used to analyse submissions and identify the unique points. 'Because if people are going to take the time and make a submission to Parliament, at the very least, the officials should be reading them or having them summarised,' Williams said. 'Every single case on its merits' Labour MP Duncan Webb is a member of the Justice Committee and sat in on oral submissions for the Treaty Principles Bill. He said he attempted to read as many submissions as possible. 'When you get a stock submission, which is a body of text that is identical and it's just been clicked and dragged, then you don't have to read them all, because you just know that there are 500 people who think exactly the same thing,' he said. 'But when you get 500 postcards, which each have three handwritten sentences on them, they may all have the same theme, they may all be from a particular organisation, but the individual thoughts that have been individually expressed. So you can't kind of categorise it as just one size fits all. You've got to take every single case on its merits.' Webb said he takes the select committee process very seriously. 'The thing that struck me was, sure, you read a lot [of submissions] which are repetitive, but then all of a sudden you come across one which actually changes the way you think about the problem in front of you. 'To kind of dismiss that as just one of a pile from this organisation is actually denying someone who's got an important point to make, their voice in the democratic process.'
