NZ First will remove Route K's $62million debt from council by making it a road of national significance and a toll free highway, says Party leader Winston Peters in Tauranga today.

The MP was speaking at an informal meeting in Red Square with Tauranga City councillors, and Tauranga NZ First candidate and city councillor Clayton Mitchell.
Winston speaks with Tauranga City Councillors at Red Square today.

The budget for the government's Roads of National Significance is $12 billion, and most of it is being spent in Auckland, says Winston.

'Where's your share?” the party leader asked today.

Up for discussion was the $431 million councillors say is being spent on the Tauranga Eastern Link project.

'This is the fastest growing area in the country. You're saying that's your share, really? You have got the leading port in the country for goodness sake.”

It's the bureaucrats in Wellington that are saying Tauranga has its share, says Winston.

'We will change the rules where the New Zealand Transport Agency is concerned as well - that's our commitment.

'I'm not getting in an argument with National, Labour, the government or the NZTA. I'm saying, that's what our position is.”

The conversation began with councillors thanking Winston for the last time he intervened in parliament on behalf of Tauranga roads by ensuring the government paid for the second harbour bridge. Initial planning was for it to be a toll road.

Many of the designated roads of national significance are not justified on a cost analysis, says Winston.

'The question you should have is why have the provinces been so massively left out? We are saying this is a fair commitment to make, and it would have been fair for the last 12 years.”

If Route K was a toll free part of the state highway network, traffic would immediately increase, and heavy motor vehicles will cease using Cambridge Road.

Winston believes traffic would increase three-fold to about 15,000 vehicles a day.

The talk moved on to Route K as a strategic link to the Waikato Expressway which the government has invested billions in, and with Auckland eventually being served by the ports of Tauranga and Whangarei.

'If you look downstream in the long term this (Port of Tauranga) is the port for Auckland, and so is Whangarei,” says Winston.

'Auckland's fighting a losing battle. They won't admit it but they are.”

'The inland port in South Auckland always made sense. There's a huge gridlock in Auckland on the motorways, downtown. It's unbelievable they are pressing on with the port development, even arguing they are going to push the wharf out into the harbour. It'll never happen.”