Our Roads & Transport 2020

Roads

SEPTEMBER 2020

IN NORTHLAND

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in northland 2020 CONTENT

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Roadworkers deal with danger every day

Seeing through the smoke, what to do about the cannabis referendum

Ensure every person is safe

Power pole crashes on the rise

Northland Transportation Alliance Striving to support and enable safe and enjoyable journeys in Northland

Four lanes trigger our economy

Rail set to boost northland’s prosperity

A perspective from SADD National Leaders

A word from David Wilson, Whangarei candidate, NZ First

Ripple Effect – the continuing road toll in Northland

Roads and transport in Northland: three big opportunities

hauraki.co.nz

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Huge machinery surrounds them and hot bitumen can deliver serious burns. While trying to facilitate progress on the work site, they also have to keep traffic flowing as evenly as possible and deal with the impatience of motorists.

Roadworkers deal with danger F every day

ulton Hogan Far North area manager Russell Jecentho says his biggest fear is anyone being hurt, and safety training is treated seriously. He has noticed motorists have become less patient over the years.

“The people we have operating the stop-go signs are chosen carefully to have the right temperament as they will often cop a fair bit of abuse unfortunately. The public seems to be far less patient. They just want to go.’’

Jecentho is retiring this month from his 50-year career working for the same road building company.

He started working for Northland Road Builders when he was 17 and over the years the company changed names to Reliable Roads before becoming Fulton Hogan.

He knows all aspects of the job as he has worked in all of them over the years.

“When I started out I was lucky to have a boss who let us have a go on all the machinery.

I was like a kid in a sandpit,’’ he said.

Jecentho said technology had made gear more driver-friendly, but also more technical.

“The basics of making a road are still the same but we use technology to help us. All the roads are surveyed with angles and cambers calculated for speed and corners.

“Grader drivers have information in the cab to know what percentage angles to set the grader blade. Shapes and angles are created for drainage. There’s quite a lot to it,’’ he said.

With a permanent staff of 43 and up to 65 in the busy road-building season, Jecentho’s day involves ensuring machinery is in the right place, the crews are organised and finances are sorted.

“Roads are expensive things. Projects are all priced out but there is always a chance we might hit unforeseen problems that require more resources.

“The big problem in Northland is water and the damage it can do to roads.’’

He said every road is different and coming up with solutions is part of the job.

“We are also trying to get each job done as quickly as possible and keep the traffic moving.

“Some jobs are super quick but others require more work if problems arise.’’

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Coopers Beach - Sealing mid 70s

“We are also trying to get each job done as quickly as possible and keep the traffic moving. “ Maintenance trucks are constantly surveying the region’s roads to identify and deal with any problems before they become major.

“We have maintenance crews clearing culverts, trimming trees and filling pot holes.

They are moving around all the time keeping an eye on the state of the roads.’’

Jecentho said pot holes needed quick attention because cracks in the road could quickly develop into deep holes when trucks and cars keep hitting the fractured bitumen.

Serious pot holes could be damaging to tires and dangerous for vehicle safety.

“The main window for roadworks is between September and April. We can’t do much over the winter months because bad weather affects our ability to work on the roads. Sometimes we have to do quick patches and come back in the summer to fix the roads properly.’’

Northland’s chaotic soils were the biggest challenge for road works, and more resources were needed to prepare the base than other parts of the country.

“The heavy clays of Northland are prone to slipping and water can quickly create soft spots where the road will fail.”

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Storm damage is also a common seasonal problem for road maintenance.

Jecentho said the lime slurry, hated by motorists, was crucial for the formation of the base of the roads in Northland.

Lime is used to create a chemical reaction with the clay to harden the soil and the metals being laid on top.

Sometimes cement is also used to create the solid surface needed for the bitumen roads.

Different types of bitumen mixes were selected for traffic volumes and road gradient.

Drainage is also important, and sometimes patches of road needed to be completely replaced in areas where water continually damages the road.

Roadworkers have to secure all the drains along each roadside to ensure damaging chemicals do not enter waterways while the work is underway.

“There’s a lot more to roadworks than most motorists realise.’’

He urged motorists to remove lime from their cars as quickly as possible and to use a bit of kerosene on a rag to remove any bitumen spots.

Keeping to the speed limits helps keep everyone safe as well as reducing the chance of chipped windscreens.

“Please have patience and give our people a wave. We are doing our best to let you go through but we do have to stop traffic to get the work done,’’ he said.

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Seeing through the smoke what to do about the cannabis referendum

BY KIRK HARDY, CEO, THE DRUG DETECTION AGENCY TDDA

The upcoming cannabis referendum has dire implications for businesses in the transportation space.

There’s simply no safe way to combine cannabis and operating machinery or motor vehicles, let alone 40 tonne truck.

If you don’t have a robust drug and alcohol policy and testing regime, you are playing with fire Companies need a professional policy and to adhere to it. It needs to be purpose built, and include specifics around preemployment, post incident and random drug testing. Dismissing an employee for a failed drug test can be justified. However, if an employer fails to take the necessary steps to ensure the dismissal was in accordance with its policy, they can still find themselves stuck in a legal challenge.

This situation was highlighted when the Employment Relations Authority found a dismissal after a failed drug test unjustified –

drawbacks to the test for cannabis. People can evade detection by rinsing their mouth, drinking or eating up to 30 minutes before a test. The detection timeframes for THC in a urine test are approximately three days for infrequent use, five days for moderate use, and 10 days for daily use. Urine is a most reliable workplace test and provides superior accuracy and reliability.

TDDA office studio hair follicle testing

because the dismissal didn’t follow their own policy. Work with a professional company like TDDA to ensure your policy is fit for purpose and followed.

Testing is science, and the science says urine provides better results than oral fluid testing Saliva testing makes up about 15% of TDDA’s workplace drug testing, but there are

This isn’t the weed you remember Cannabis potency increased 300 percent since the 1980s. If legalisation occurs you can expect high concentration THC, the psychoactive ingredient, to cause issues in your workplace. It comes in the form of edibles and concentrates like ‘butane honey oil’ or ‘gel caps’ that have THC concentrations as high as 90 percent.

THC has a dangerous hangover effect, even for a moderate social dose. Studies show cannabis can impact workers for days without them knowing and chronic users of cannabis may be constantly impaired.

Managers must be educated to recognise the signs of workplace drug abuse

Many supervisors are ill prepared to deal with employees presenting signs of drug and alcohol abuse. There is an easy way to learn what to look for and how to appropriately deal with an issue.

TDDA’s Comprehensive Substance Identification (CSi) programme helps managers understand drug issues and go beyond simply looking for attendance problems, forgetfulness, or recurring minor incidents. CSi provides techniques so managers make informed employment decisions. You don’t approach someone with a meth issue the same way as someone with a cannabis issue, and CSi helps solve this problem.

Cannabis is either staying, or staying Cannabis is a problem in the workplace with or without the referendum, but a pass vote means more access to and use of cannabis.

Leaders in the transportation industry need to take the time now to prepare. Businesses should start by reviewing the company drug and alcohol policy to make sure it’s still relevant. Contact TDDA for help with updating drug and alcohol policies, educating supervisors, and ensuring your workplace has effective testing procedures.

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in northland 2020

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Ensure every person is safe New Zealand police work together with Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency and the Ministry Transport to reduce deaths and serious injuries on the road.

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he road safety partnership implements new operating models and investment for road policing, and acknowledges each agency has a role to play.

The partnership enables shared research, innovation, planning, and delivery that will optimise the outcomes of all investment in road safety.

Together with our partners we have agreed on some operational Police outputs based on the outcome we want to see of a reduction of death and serious injury on the roads.

We have focused on addressing restraints, impairment, distraction and speed behaviours, as we know the work we do in that area saves lives on the road.

New Zealand Police’s purpose is to ensure every person who lives, works, or travels through New Zealand is safe and feels safe on the roads and in our communities.

Road policing is an integral part of Police’s business, contributing to reducing crime and social harm, and building public trust and confidence.

Police will maintain a focus on the four behaviours we know cause the most harm to

people on our roads; people driving without restraints, driving impaired due to alcohol, drugs, and fatigue, driving distracted, and speeding.

As we head into the warmer months of spring and summer we expect some Northlanders will socialise more often. The warmer evenings allows us to all stay out later. Unfortunately that also means some Northlanders will make the poor choice to drive while impaired by alcohol and/or drugs.

The number of breath tests carried out by frontline staff will now increase.

If you drive while drunk or drugged you can expect to be stopped and tested.

The reason we take a firm approach to drink

and drugged driving is that the harm caused in a crash by one of these drivers can be absolutely devastating, and is totally avoidable.

The best way to avoid the consequences of drink or drugged driving including crashes, injuries, death, criminal convictions, loss of licence, imprisonment, is to have plan before your event begins.

Always plan how you will get home safely and who will be the sober driver. Have plenty of food and non-alcoholic drinks available, and let your friends stay the night.

Police can’t make Northland roads safer on our own. We ask the community to play their part. If someone you know is about to drive while impaired stop them. You could save a life.

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POWER POLE CRASHES ON THE RISE Motorists are being urged to slow down as a spike in vehicles crashing into power poles throughout Northland continues.

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he message comes as Police, Northland Transportation Alliance, Northpower and Top Energy team up to raise public awareness on the dangers of power pole crashes.

Since 2016 there have been 384 reported crashes involving vehicles hitting power poles, street lamps and telecommunication poles in Northland.

Of those, over 200 were collisions with power poles. 111 were in the Kaipara and Whangarei Districts on the Northpower electricity network and 97 on the Top Energy electricity network in the Far North District.

Crash analysis data from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency shows 45% of crashes are in the 15-29-year-old age bracket. Seven of crashes were fatal, 141 caused injury and the remaining 234 were non-injury crashes.

The social cost of the crashes is over $67 million according to Northland Transportation Alliance’s Ian Crayton-Brown.

“Unfortunately Kiwi drivers are just too impatient and aggressive and we can’t afford

to be that way on our roads. You just can’t defend that behaviour,” says Mr Crayton-Brown.

Brain injury Association Northland Liaison Officer Vikki Herdman says sadly, a lot of people in road crashes end up with brain injuries and that has a life-long impact on them, their families and communities.

“A moment’s distraction can cause a lifetime of change. People living with brain injuries often live with ongoing fatigue issues. They may travel from Whangarei to Auckland and need to stop for several rests. Fatigue is real, take a break,” says Ms Herdman.

It is a sentiment shared by Senior Sergeant Steve Dickson who says any death on our roads is one too many.

“A third of road deaths are due to people not wearing seat belts, a third is alcohol and drug related and a third is speed – people simply going too fast for the conditions. People also need to avoid being distracted by mobile phones and passengers,” says Mr Dickson.

“Road safety is everybody’s responsibility.

Decisions you make as a driver impact not only you and those in your vehicle, but everyone else on the road as well. The speed at which you

crash is the biggest determining factor of injury.”

When people take out power poles and ground mounted transformers that creates additional dangers due to the risk of electrocution, fires and power outages in our community, says Northpower Network General Manager Josie Boyd.

“I want to again urge motorists to reduce their speed in winter conditions. We are seeing too many crashes taking out power poles.

“During the initial Covid-19 lockdown we had virtually no incidents but since then we have seen a spike in vehicles crashing into power poles. Our message is that if you are in a vehicle that takes down a power pole and the powerlines end up on the ground, be extremely careful.

When people take out power poles and ground mounted transformers that creates additional dangers due to the risk of electrocution, fires and power outages

“If you can safely drive clear, do so. If not, stay in the vehicle, phone 111 and stay where you are until you are told it is safe to get out. Our crews and emergency services attend to these crashes quickly.

Since 2016 Northpower has experienced 111 vehicle vs pole crashes, interrupting electricity supply to 47,857 customers. During lockdown there were no incidents in May but there have been 13 instances of vehicles hitting poles since June.

The figures for Top Energy are remarkably similar with 97 vehicle versus pole crashes impacting on electricity supply to 44,928 customers.

Tony Smallman, Top Energy Network Operations Manager, wants motorists to slow down and pay more attention on the road.

“We don’t want to see anybody hurt but you can see from these figures that there is a big impact on the rest of community when power poles are taken out. There is an economic and social cost but these incidents also put the safety of others in the community and our lines crews at risk,” says Mr Smallman.

“There is also a large financial cost to these incidents and it is common for repairs to broken poles and powerlines to be in the $15,000 to $30,000 bracket and that is money that doesn’t go back to our consumer owners.”

Since 2016 there have been more than 200 reported crashes involving vehicles hitting power poles in Northland Six of these crashes were FATAL And the social cost of these crashes is over $67 million

SLOW DOWN!

Northland Road Safety Partners www.northlandroadsafety.co.nz

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NORTHLAND TRANSPORTATION ALLIANCE

Striving to support and enable

safe and enjoyable journeys in Northland Road works sites are going to be a common feature on Northland roads over the next 12 months, with significant investment planned to be delivered through the Northland Transportation Alliance (NTA) across 6000km of local transport networks.

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hrough a combination of Council programmes, Waka Kotahi NZTA subsidies and Central Government Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) and Economic Stimulus Funding, over $160 million of work is scheduled to be delivered this financial year, including continuing with a significant volume of repairs from the July storm event.

The NTA is a collaboration between Far North, Kaipara, and Whangarei District Councils, Northland Regional Council and Waka Kotahi NZTA, designed to enable an efficient and regionally aligned approach to delivering Northland’s transportation needs.

Council’s remain responsible for setting their own transport strategies and budgets, while the Alliance brings together council’s transportation staff and expertise working

Grader and Roller

Redeployment Workers constructing new Tikipunga off road path

Grader operation

efficiently and collaboratively across the Region to improve consistency, quality and safety of transport infrastructure and services in Northland.

With nearly 3,500km (59%) of Northland’s local roading network unsealed, it’s not surprising that significant investment is targeted in this area. By nature, and as longtime rural residents could attest to, all unsealed roads lifecycles are erratic compared to sealed roads. As we saw in last year’s drought, in dry weather unsealed roads can become corrugated, dry and dusty and by the end of summer are generally in their worst condition.

To prepare for this routine maintenance and repairs, targeted water tabling, drainage, and heavy metalling programmes are all now underway to get the unsealed network in the best condition possible before summer.

As an added boost for several of Northland’s unsealed roads, approximately $25-$30m of Council and Central Government funding is to be invested over the next couple of years to seal nearly 40kms of roads across the region, with road selection based on factors including

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reducing dust impacts and improving and unlocking strategic freight and tourist routes.

The programme for this year covers more than just unsealed roads, with work continuing across other parts of the network to improve the quality and safety of the transport network for all users.

In addition to seal extension works, $13m of work is programmed improving the quality of Northland’s sealed local road network through resealing of 170 km’s of existing sections of roads. Akin to repainting your house, resealing is an essential maintenance activity designed to improve the quality and extend the life of the road.

In May 2020 Te Tai Tokerau received $9.32m of Central Government COVID-19 economic response funding targeted at providing local employment opportunities through park and roadside vegetation clearance, roadside litter collection and footpath/walkway construction work. Delivery is being led by the NTA and to date there have been over 120 people engaged on the programme, 58 of those who were previously out of work.

Footpath Construction

The NTA continues to focus on delivering new footpaths and cycleways, extending and developing existing walking and cycling networks. Speed limit reviews and consultations are underway, initially targeting high crash risk areas, and as a result there will be changes to existing speed limits and implementation of traffic calming and slowing solutions, all designed to make the networks safer for all users whether they be motorists, cyclists or pedestrians.

We continue to work with other government and community organisations to deliver road safety programs and initiatives, targeting key risk areas for Northland which include unlicensed drivers, consistent use of seatbelts and substance or speed related crashes.

COVID lockdown constraints provided challenges for Public Transport, with services continually adjusted to manage constraints and meet passenger demand. Identifying effective Public Transport options remains a priority, with the weekly Kaiwaka to Whangarei bus service to continue for at least another 12 months. A 12-month trial of two new weekly services for Hikurangi to Whangarei and Whangarei Heads to Whangarei also commences in November.

Maintenance and operation of the State Highways remains as Waka Kotahi NZTA’s responsibility however, under the Alliance model, Waka Kotahi’s NZTA’s Northland staff work closely with Council NTA staff where activities overlap, with the teams working alongside each other in the same office in Whangarei.

CALVIN THOMAS  NORTHLAND TRANSPORTATION ALLIANCE MANAGER

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FOUR LANES TRIGGER OUR ECONOMY The four lanes from Whangarei to Auckland have been on the books as being the biggest economic driver for Northland from before National announced they would build them in 2017.

DR SHANE RETI

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very Northland mayor agreed then that it was vital to our ongoing growth, and it remains so. The section from Whangarei to Marsden has the dubious history of being one of the worst police hot spots for accidents, with a low road safety rating. Road safety and competitiveness for our local goods are key factors for our access to the economic powerhouse that is Auckland and beyond.

Recently National has announced transport infrastructure that will build four lanes all the way from Whangarei to Matamata and then across to Tauranga. This will be a massive infrastructure build. It would bring Northland into what is currently termed the “golden triangle” for freight between Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga.

Building the four lanes to Auckland was always important, but this is even more so now in a coronavirus environment. The economic impact of coronavirus on Northland is already severe and will last for many years. Now is the time to be investing in local infrastructure projects that will create jobs and stimulate the Northland economy.

There are many good infrastructure projects that can be started in Northland and the four lanes is one of them. The case for the four lanes was strong before coronavirus - it now has even more urgency. We need to start the building now.

Four lanes are part of what is required for an integrated freight program in Northland.

It also includes rail, air, and sea movements.

Northland products need to be competitive to the marketplace and arrive on time. We cannot afford breakdowns on a single lane across the Brynderwyns to hold up freight causing traffic to drive through our rural areas and across one lane bridges.

National has a track record of building infrastructure such as the Waterview tunnel; and National will build the four lanes from Whangarei which will trigger our economy.

Labour “Holiday highway” NZ First “We just cannot guarantee pipe dreams, like a four-lane highway to Whangarei” Greens “investing a similar sum in more, targeted road safety improvements” National “We will build the four lanes from Whangarei”

Build the 4 Lanes Trigger the economy DR SHANE RETI MP for Whangārei

in northland 2020 Northland had become New Zealand’s Cinderella of the regions. Through lack of investment in Northland’s infrastructure, unemployment prevailed, bringing with it the social problems of poverty.

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ith investment in rail by the Labour-New Zealand First Coalition government, producers in Northland will soon be able to reduce costs, encourage more investment and move goods to markets at competitive prices.

Small investment for large gains with rail Until last year the North Auckland railway line was a joke. After years of neglect through privatisation and a policy of “managed decline” under the last National – Act- Maori – United Future Government, the line speed had dwindled to just 45kph, or lower! The line was unable to accommodate newer and larger locomotives or modern Hi Cube containers.

Now, with investment of $150 million from the Provincial Growth Fund, the line to Auckland is being brought up to the same standard as any main trunk line in New Zealand. With new bridges and higher tunnels, new locomotives and Hi Cube containers can be railed into Northland at higher speeds and passenger trains will return to Northland.

RAIL SET TO BOOST NORTHLAND’S PROSPERITY

With more targeted investment, a line could be built to Northport. In 2006 when the Whangarei port was transferred to Marsden Point, rail lost 6000 tonnes of freight per week. That freight all transferred to large trucks and has grown to about 10,000 tonnes or more now. Most of that is logs that were railed from inland ports at Dargaville, Otiria and Wellsford. New roads were built to the port, but the strategic missing link, a railway line,was never built. Northport will never maximise its potential without a rail connection. Currently, over 600 standard 20 foot equivalent containers are railed from Auckland to the Port of Tauranga every day, because the infrastructure is there, but nothing to NorthPort. New Zealand has the most expensive roads in the world to maintain because of our volcanic soil structures, yet

businesses in Northland are forced to export by inefficient road transport. Rail to Northport will enhance the Northland economy and create hundreds of jobs during the construction phase and help the region in the Covid recession.

Provincial Growth Fund revitalising Northland’s railways The last National government put what little investment they gave to transport into a handful of highways serving just 4% of traffic nationally, which just resulted in an increased number of dangerous trucks on the road.

According to the Ministry of Transport, trucks contribute only 23% of their infrastructure costs. A further $1 billion is paid by motorists, another $1 billion by ratepayers and this is topped up by a further $1.5 billion by

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taxpayers. Investment in our railway system provides the cheapest, safest and most environmentally friendly form of transport and which also reduces congestion on, and damage to, roads.

KiwiRail, which has had to pay for most of its own infrastructure costs has now, under the current Labour-NZ First coalition, had considerable extra investment through the PGF to catch up on past neglect and to bring the railway back up to a fit for purpose state.

A large part of this reinvestment has been in Northland. The current rebuild to Auckland will be completed before Christmas, and next year, work starts on the line between Whangarei to Otiria where a new container and log terminal is being developed providing many more jobs to the region. Remember, thise line was closed by the previous National-Act-Maori partyUnited Future coalition.

High value rail tourism for Northland Now with the current investment it will be possible for tourist trains from Auckland to be developed and eventually trains, in the longer term could bring tourists off cruise ships from either NorthPort or the Bay of Islands to Whangarei. So with an upgraded rail line to Auckland and access by rail to two ports, many more high-end tourists could access Northland’s attractions.

The Provincial Growth Fund has served Northland well. It is important to keep the current pro-rail government in place, otherwise investment in Northland will once again languish.

AUTHORISED BY: W.BUTSON, PO BOX 1103, WELLINGTON 6140

NORTHLAND RAILWAY INVESTMENT WELCOMED

On behalf of Northlanders we thank the Coalition Government for recognising the importance of our railway network.

• More trains = less dangerous large trucks = safer roads • Rebuilding Northland’s railways for Freight, Tourism, Jobs • Re-opening Kauri to Otiria railway line 2021 • New Container transfer & log facility at Otiria to open 2021 • Purchase of land for the railway to North Port

• Strong Northland Railway Network • Strong Northland Economy • Safer Northland Roads

RMTU PO BOX 1103, Wellington

Photo: Niall Robertson

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in northland 2020

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A PERSPECTIVE from SADD National Leaders Two young Northland leaders who are part of SADD (Students Against Dangerous Driving), a student-led peer to peer programme, are using their voices to advocate for safer roads.

Micaela attends Kaitaia College: “I am involved with SADD because it is studentled with the purpose of helping each other remember how important road safety is and that it affects so many other people beyond the driver.

I live in a small community. On one hand, that can be an advantage because our roads are not as busy or crowded. But sometimes this can also be a disadvantage, as it is not as easy to help and aid those who do get injured or who do have a crash.

In my area we have a lot of crashes due to the use of alcohol and drugs. Seeing this constantly around my community is very disheartening.

My goal is to make as many students aware as possible how to keep safe on the road, to keep this knowledge and pass it on to the next generation.

An added challenge in Northland is that it is hard to find both funds and support. I work with Kaitaia Police, Far North Building Safer Communities, SADD and mentors.

My vision for Northland is to see everyone working together as a unit to have safer roads in Northland. In the long term crashes and accidents will reduce if everyone just supports one another.”

Ang goes to Tauraoa Area School: “In my area, we have a big issue with restricted drivers taking passengers, as well as the use of phones while people are driving. An issue that is more specific to my area is logging trucks and people either not passing them with care, observing proper distancing, or having the education around the blind spots that these trucks have.

I got involved because I felt really passionate about road safety messaging and being a part of SADD would be an excellent opportunity.

Groups like SADD are vital to spreading the road safety message within school groups and small communities but if we started to bring these messages into our everyday learning, they could be taken a lot further. Preparing young people for when they start driving and making sure they have knowledge around road safety and being a responsible driver is vital.

Before lockdown, we were running activities quite well but now everyone has got a lot of catching up to do. SADD has not been prioritised by all and I think having road safety education in our schools and more SADD groups would help. We also want to reach those more at risk road users.

We’re not partnered with anyone but we receive awesome support from the SADD team

and are wanting to work with others. We want to give students easily accessible information.”

SADD National Manager Donna Govorko is thankful for their hard work.

“Road trauma sadly continues to be a major contributor to deaths and serious injuries in Northland for 16-24 year olds. In 2019 71 young people died in crashes and 612 were seriously injured. Young drivers are seven times more likely to be involved in fatal or serious injury crashes than other drivers and this risk is increased during the first 6-12 months of driving solo on their restricted licence.

Many of these crashes are preventable and we urge all New Zealanders to take care on our roads. Help support our rangatahi to spread road safety messages in their communities, and keep their friends and whanau safe on our roads.”

www.sadd.org.nz www.instagram.com/saddnz/ www.facebook.com/SADDNZ/

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TRANSPORT The Taitokerau Northland Economic Action Plan has a goal of a ‘Multimodal integrated transport system’.

T

his would mean that you get road, rail, sea, and air transport working together efficiently. Of course, the reality of that, following decades of underinvestment by governments of the left and the right, is a huge challenge.

The motorway extension from Puhoi to Warkworth infamously labelled the “holiday highway”, while welcomed, will literally not leave Auckland and is due for completion in May 2022.

The extension to Te Hana is currently ‘under investigation’. Meanwhile successful local companies, like Culham Engineering supplying Auckland with key infrastructure - walk bridges across the Northern motorway, the new busway at East Tamaki and Downtown Shopping Centre, using steel landed at Northport - must negotiate (aka close) the Brynderwyns and navigate a two-lane potholed road in a constant state of repair. This is simply not good enough.

State Hwy 1 needs to be a four-lane highway between Auckland and Whangarei, at least.

But that’s only part of it.

In the last three years NZ First has worked tirelessly to get Whangarei and Northland better connected by: • Investing in roading infrastructure in key freight routes and Whangarei to Marsden point • Investing in rail between Auckland and Otiria • Investing in design and land for a rail spur to Marsden point, • Investigation into moving more Auckland freight through Northport • Supporting Northport expansion • Investigating a new drydock to service the Navy and other large seagoing vessels All these projects create immediate and long-lasting jobs in construction, housing, marine, engineering, trades, and professional services. Improved logistics will help our manufacturers and producers immensely.

We simply cannot afford to stop now; you must allow us to finish the job. Never go back. Party vote NZ First.

DAVID WILSON, WHANGAREI CANDIDATE, NZ FIRST

BACKING NORTHLAND’S FUTURE PGF INVESTMENTS - $290.5 MILLION · Road and rail: $272.64 million · Ports: $17.87 million

New Zealand First has invested MANGONUI heavily into Northland’s land, air and sea links.

Upgrading the Bay of Islands Airport Upgrading the wharves in Russell, Paihia and Opua

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COVID RESPONSE · Road and Rail: $14.072 million Road-Rail exchange terminal OTIRIA

Reopening the Kauri-Otiria line

Rail Revival of $204 for Northland Rail line Opening Otiria line with freight terminal

Whangarei rail yard

Bridge replacement

Purchased land for Marsden rail spur

Four lane Highway

Started funding for the four lane highway

Rail Spur Marsden Point

Only New Zealand First will back our transport future:

Tunnel Improvement

Continue with Northland's rail revival

Kaipara road upgrade

Build the Marsden Rail Spur Move the port to Northport Continue fixing our dusty roads Champion coastal shipping initiatives such as 'Blue Highways'

Kaipara warves and jetties

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RIPPLE EFFECT With the Northland road toll continuing to climb and an increase seen in serious injuries resulting from car crashes, it is timely a new regional road safety education campaign is about to be launched.

D

uring October the Northland public and visitors alike will be exposed to a hard hitting, emotionally evoked video production campaign called ‘The Ripple Effect’. This is an extension of the One Tear Too Many campaign. The One Tear Too Many brand has been in existence since it commenced in 2015 when a young graffiti artist created the image of a wahine crying.

The wahine depicted Papatuanuku – our Earth Mother, with one tear representing one death

on our roads as too many. Over the years the road safety brand has evolved and been amended to be utilised on roadside billboards, bus-backs, cinema advertising, radio, print media, social marketing and resources throughout the Far North, Whangarei and Kaipara districts.

The existing THINK campaign that has been in production since May this year, included local male icons and celebrities encouraging their supporters and peer group to ‘Think’

about what they are doing when it comes to getting behind the wheel of a car. The men involved were chosen as those who other men may relate to, recognise, or respect.

The new ‘Ripple Effect’ campaign to be launched in October continues with the idea of getting people to think about their behaviour on the road, however holds a different style of message delivery. The campaign tells the story of an 11-year-old boy who is killed by a speeding driver and shows a

number of people affected by his death.

Jodi Betts, from Far North REAP Road Safety, who has been involved with the One Tear Too Many campaign since its inception, points out the reason this next component of the campaign is more hard hitting is a result of focus group work that showed people consider changing behaviour if children are involved or a human story is attached to the message. “This story may conjure up a lot of deep emotion for viewers and a strategic marketing plan is devised to ensure appropriate advertising placement” she says.

Jodi also states we (road users) really need to consider all of the people affected when a road tragedy takes place. This may just be enough for a driver to consider not taking an unnecessary risk.

The new ‘Ripple Effect’ video production is a collaborative project between Far North REAP and Waka Kotahi (the NZ Transport Agency), to establish and develop a region wide road safety campaign that reaches Northland’s demographic. The campaign will be seen and heard throughout Northland beginning mid-October and run until mid-April 2021. The video production will be seen on social media and a range of TV and Web digital platforms, with still images and messages in the Northland Age and Northern Advocate, and as radio advertising heard over many of Northland’s prominent radio stations.

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Roads and transport in Northland:

THREE BIG OPPORTUNITIES

From the incoming government, the AA wants a commitment to restore alcohol testing numbers to their previous high levels and to introduce a new roadside drug testing regime

by Police as soon as possible.

Quite rightly, many Northlanders will look at the safety, resilience and ‘customer experience’ of their transport network and feel they’re getting a rough deal.

3

T

he next government is going to have to show Northland’s transport system more ‘love’. In part, that means grappling with some of the massive, complex infrastructure issues the region faces, but it also means a strong focus on the projects that can be advanced more quickly, without the eye-watering costs or thorny politics.

Here are three initiatives the AA wants brought to the front of the queue. We see them as an excellent opportunity to deliver transport benefits where Northland desperately needs them, in a way that corresponds with what local motorists want to see from their fuel tax.

1

Invest in road maintenance Road maintenance has been badly neglected right around the country over the last decade, and Northland has been at the sharp end of it. As investment has fallen in real terms, road surfaces on more and more of the network are now in urgent need of repair.

When it comes to the safety of road surfaces, skid resistance and roughness are the key measures. In Northland, 30% of driving

takes place on roads with sub-standard skid resistance (compared to 20% nationally) and 7% of the network exceeds what’s considered an acceptable level of roughness (compared to 5 % nationally).

This helps explain why Northland is the area where AA Members are most negative about the condition of their roads. In an AA survey earlier this year, over 70% of Northland respondents rated road conditions in their region as very poor or sub-standard, versus 33% nationally.

In the AA’s view, the Government is missing a trick by not using the Covid-19 Response and Recovery Fund to invest in road maintenance, not just to make safer, better quality roads, but also to stimulate economic activity.

Road maintenance projects are a great way to generate lots of jobs, quickly and costeffectively, right around the country.

In Northland, some obvious candidates

would be SH1 north of Hikurangi, SH14 Whangarei-Dargaville, and the road around Broadwood, just to name a few.

2

More testing to detect drunk and drugged drivers Alcohol and drug impairment continues to have a massive impact on New Zealand’s road toll (about one in three fatal crashes involve drunk or drugged drivers) and, sadly, Northland is over-represented. In 2019, Northland had the highest rate of road deaths and serious injuries involving drunk drivers in New Zealand, on a per capita basis; for drugged driving, Northland had the second-highest rate of deaths and serious injuries per capita.

Large-scale testing of drivers for alcohol or drugs is essential if Police are to catch impaired drivers, or deter them from getting behind the wheel in the first place. Unfortunately, this too is an area where things are heading in the wrong direction.

If you feel like you don’t see as many booze buses or Police checkpoints as you used to, you’re right. Across the country, the number of alcohol tests Police carry out each year has dropped from three million in 2013 to less than two million. Meanwhile, the tools exist to test drivers for drugs like marijuana and methamphetamine (through saliva testing), but it’s still not clear when Police will be given the power to use them.

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Youth licensing A sizeable chunk of young people around New Zealand are driving without the proper licence. In some cases they don’t have a licence at all; in others they’ve got a learner or restricted licence but have never taken the next step.

The issue is about much more than a person’s legal right to be on the road – it’s about their participation in society. Not having a driver’s licence can prevent someone from opening a bank account, taking out an insurance policy or, in many cases, applying for a job.

All too often, it can also mean clogging the justice system. Driving without a proper licence is one of the most common offences for young people, and can quickly snowball into unpaid fines, further charges and a longterm relationship with the law.

AA research shows that, when it comes to young people driving without a licence or in breach of a learner’s licence, Northland has higher rates of offending than the national average, and has the highest rate of offenders’ unpaid fines being sent to court.

The Government needs to fund a large-scale, nationwide programme to help young people that would otherwise struggle to get a driver’s licence (bringing together the multiple smaller groups that are already doing excellent work in this space). In Northland, this needs to include greater access to driver licence testing facilities.

This is all-the-more relevant as the economy battles back from Covid-19. Northland already has one of the highest rates of youth not in employment, education or training (NEETs), and this is predicted to surge as the economic impacts bite. Young people will need to give themselves every possible chance to access work opportunities, and that means being legally able to drive.

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