Party divisions over Puhoi motorway extension

Northland and National MP Mike Sabin is strongly supportive of the State Highway extension of the motorway from Puhoi and has highlighted that the Labour Party has committed to scrapping it.

The State Highway 1 extension, which is identified as a Road of National Significance (RoNS), comprises of two phases, the first to Warkworth in the Rodney electorate and the second through to Wellsford, in the Northland electorate.

“The Labour Party view has long been that this project is not a good idea, with Phil Goff stating during the last election campaign that they think the money would be better spent elsewhere, but in the House MP David Parker went one step further and said the project would be the first to go under Labour,” Mr Sabin said.

The RoNS programme represents one of New Zealand’s biggest ever infrastructure investments and is a key part of the Government’s infrastructure plan. The seven RoNS projects are based around New Zealand's five largest population centres. The focus is on moving people and freight between and within these centres more safely and efficiently.

“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 in the recent whole-of-Northland economic summits,” Mr Sabin said.

“This Government, and most certainly National Party MPs in the Northland area, understand the huge economic potential of Northland and the social challenges of the area, and for us this infrastructure is a vital part of growth and development,” Mr Sabin said. 

“These projects support industries that are critical to New Zealand’s economy such as dairy processing, forestry and tourism and these and many other industries are key beneficiaries of better roads, something that is obvious to Northlanders.”