By Rodney Councillor Greg Sayers. Ratepayers in Rodney should not be required to fund the operating costs of the City Rail Link.
This is not opposition to the project or to Auckland’s growth. It is a question of equity. Should a largely rural district, with no passenger rail services and limited public transport infrastructure, be compelled to fund a multi-billion-dollar inner-city rail tunnel?
The CRL’s projected annual operating cost is approximately $235 million — equivalent to a 7.9 per cent residential rates increase. That comes on top of last year’s significant hikes, which in some cases reached 30 to 50 per cent. At a time when households are absorbing higher insurance, food and fuel costs, another large rates increase is not sustainable.
Rodney residents derive little direct benefit. There are no local train stations. Many communities rely on private vehicles because viable public transport options do not exist. Some rural roads remain unsealed, and long-promised township upgrades have been deferred and SH 16 will remain congested.
Rodney ratepayers already pay a targeted rate to maintain basic bus services.
Supporters argue that all of Auckland benefits indirectly through reduced congestion and economic stimulus. But indirect gains cannot reasonably be equated with direct, daily usage. For a commuter stepping onto a central city train platform, the benefit is immediate. For a farmer navigating an unsealed rural road, it is not.
Excluding Rodney from contributing to the CRL’s operating costs would not derail the project. Spread across Auckland’s urban base, the additional cost per household would be thirteen cents a week. For Rodney, the relief would be substantial.
Rodney should not be penalised for infrastructure it neither uses nor meaningfully benefits from. Excluding Rodney from a 7.9% rate increase is not divisive — it is responsible governance.
Please have your say online at https://akhaveyoursay.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/ or pop into a library for a submission form before 27 March.
