New road worth $45m a year to North

The Puhoi to Wellsford road of National Significance (RoNS) would benefit Northland by more than $45 million extra annually, Northland MP Mike Sabin said yesterday.

The financial gain was a key point when he defended the roading project by saying the Green Party had demonstrated it did not see Northland's potential for growth, by joining its would-be coalition partner Labour in singling out the Puhoi to Wellsford Road of National Significance (RoNS) for scrapping.

"[Greens leader] Russel Norman wants to see a rail loop in Auckland and today dismissed the Puhoi four-lane motorway extension project as nothing more than a holiday highway, something that boils the blood of Northlanders," Mr Sabin said.

"The Greens would scrap this project in favour of Auckland's rail loop, because they see it has better cost benefits than the Puhoi to Wellsford project, yet NZTA estimates this RoNS will benefit Northland's economy in order of $35-$45 million a year, giving a cost benefit ratio of 2 to 1."

Mr Sabin said he had also worked with Northland Regional Council (NRC) economists to look in more detail at finances of the Puhoi-Wellsford project and he believed the cost benefits were far higher in reality.

"Across the 55 industry sectors of the Northland economy, NRC estimates around $800 million, or 15 per cent, of Northland's GDP - totalling $5.2 billion in 2011 - is generated via exports out of the region by road via State Highway 1," he said.

The project had been identified by the Government as one of seven Roads of National Significance to help stimulate economic development in Northland, and provide a safer and more reliable transport connection between Northland and Auckland and into Waikato and the Bay of Plenty.

"The RoNS are considered 'lead infrastructure' projects - that is, they enable economic growth rather than simply responding to it, which was identified as the highest priority when I ran last year's whole-of-Northland economic summits," Mr Sabin said.

"This is lost on the Greens, who also seem to forget that the funds collected for the RoNS from petrol excise and Road User Charges have to be spent on roads, so it is not the case that this project can be scrapped to pay for a rail project around Auckland - which is actually more about passengers than freight anyway."

Mr Sabin said Northland's economy was growing, with GDP up by 4.2 per cent in the year to March 2012, nearly double the New Zealand GDP increase for the same period of 2.3 per cent.

"This ranks Northland fourth of the 16 regions and we have plenty more in the tank," Mr Sabin said.