The Bayfair Flyover debacle

Let’s be clear – NZTA (as the agency that manages our transport infrastructure, on behalf of this Coalition Government) has been totally marginalised by this government. We can blame them for no new funding for roading infrastructure, but the reality is they are hamstrung.

The Bayfair to Te Maunga flyover had its funding committed by the previous National Government, but still they seem to be able to find ways to undermine this project.

Steven Joyce, when he was Minister of Transport, changed the Tauranga Eastern Link project. The Helen Clarke Labour Government had planned just one lane each way, but Steven Joyce said “Build it once, and build it right”. Thankfully we now have an outstanding expressway, that is world class, and with an exemplar safety record.

Move forward to 2019, and the “looney left” have taken over the hen house. Julianne Genter will not fund any new roads – just safety features and, of course cycleways. And then there is Winston Peters – he could override the Greens, but he is vindictive to the Western Bay of Plenty, just because we sent him packing as our local MP.

Councillors have been told to bend over backwards to get Government on board, but unless we can convince a more reasonable approach, then the Western Bay will continue to suffer.

The flyover is an absolute disaster – a single lane each way, or even a third tidal-flow lane, with no recognition for cyclists and pedestrians, is ridiculous – and dangerous. To not have an under (or over) pass for cyclists and pedestrians is just plain lunacy.

Julianne Genter’s ideological madness is understandable, but Winston Peters vindictiveness towards Tauranga is just totally unacceptable. Local Government politicians need to call him out. We should not consent any more residential or industrial land, unless Central Government changes this ridiculously petty transport infrastructure policy.

NZ has been a great place to invest

For the last decade the New Zealand Equity Market has been the best place for Kiwis to invest. Prior to the GFC (2008) the Australian sharemarket outperformed our own, but since markets bottomed in 2009 New Zealand listed shares have gone "gang busters". The NZX50 Index is up 298% since its 2009 low, whereas the ASX200 Index is only up 81% in the same period.

Furthermore the New Zealand sharemarket is continuing (along with the Australian equity market) to show low volatility in recent months.

This would appear to auger well for New Zealand investors, but it does mean that our New Zealand Equity market is now very fully prices. Historically, Labour Government's have been good for equity markets in NZ, but the 2019 Budget emphasises that we have a Government that loves spin over substance, and this is a recipe for an economy that could easily "tank".

Mt thoughts would be to lock in some of your gains, and maybe rebalance your portfolio - holding a bit more cash and more global equities.

TAURANGA BUS SERVICES

What has gone wrong with Tauranga’s Bus Service? The numbers tell us that ‘All in not well’ with our buses.

I chaired the Regional Council’s Public Transport Committee from 2005 to 2010, and the Regional Transport Committee from 2005 to 2008. I was proud of the growth in our services over that time – but the current situation (see the patronage graph below) is just not acceptable.

Tauranga City Councillors think that they should be running the buses; but then they want us (through our Port dividends) to pay the bills. I am totally opposed to this, because the current councillors have a proven track record of incompetence and poor governance.

You only have to look at their lack of vision, and unwillingness to genuinely fund any visionary projects (just look at the mess in the CBD). The Tauranga Amenities Group (driven by our city’s great philanthropist, Paul Adams) had a vision for downtown Tauranga, but the ‘tall poppy’ syndrome meant that our City Councillors wouldn’t give it a serious consideration.

There is no way that I would trust the current City Council with this responsibility – it is just another ill-conceived power grab.

Yes – the new Bus Contract still has big issues., but the biggest is that, while supporting the Bus Blueprint (the strategy developed for the bus service under the new contract), Tauranga City Councillors made no commitment to funding the agreed, required roading infrastructure (which is their responsibility).

The bottom line is Tauranga Ratepayers can't rely on our City Councillors to prudently manage our existing assets - let alone giving them the responsibility to also manage our buses. All that they can think about is the $2 billion nest egg in the Port shares - they think that it should be theirs - and yet in the local government restructuring of 1989, the Regional Council got $46 million in Port assets, and the city got $46 million in Electricity assets. Both enterprises grew fantastically, but the City cashed their investment in - while the Regional Council played the long game (now worth more than $2 billiion today). That is called good governance - something TCC has been lacking for years.