Penlink: Whangaparāoa residents say they won't pay both tolls and fuel tax

Wednesday, 15 June 2022

Ō Mahurangi Penlink conceptual fly-through - SH1 Redvale to Whangaparāoa Rd, north Auckland.

Whangaparāoa residents say their new highway needs to be paid for either by tolls or taxes, but not both, otherwise they won’t use it.

The Government signed a contract for the construction of the Penlink highway from SH1 to Whangaparāoa last week but the question of who should pay for it has been left off the plan.

Stanmore Bay resident James Redmond leaves the house at 6.30am to avoid traffic on his way to work in Albany, but he said he still wouldn’t use Penlink if it was tolled.

Pictured, an artist’s impression of what the new O Mahurangi Penlink project will look like once it is complete in 2026.

“Having to pay an extra $30 to $40 a week just to get to work would be ridiculous. I think we already pay enough taxes,” he said.

**READ MORE:

A new bridge will cross the Weiti River.

* Congestion charges a hard sell for south Aucklanders, experts say

* Tears flow on Hibiscus Coast for Penlink funding announcement

Transport Minister Michael Wood said barely a week had gone by without a conversation about Penlink in Wellington thanks to intensive lobbying by north Aucklanders, including Rodney-based list MP Marja Lubeck.

* Average price of '91' cruises past $3 a litre

Manly resident Trevor Cochrane agreed. He said between paying fuel tax, registration and road user costs, he had already paid for the highway.

Meanwhile, other upgrades all over Auckland were done without residents being tolled.

“I understand that there has to be some kind of collection to pay for roads, but everyone should pay, not just north Aucklanders.”

When the contract was signed last week, Transport Minister Michael Wood said he was “strongly considering” tolling the new road, citing public support for the idea.

Public consultation in 2006 by the former Rodney District Council showed 90% of the public supported a tolled Penlink. The results of another consultation by Waka Kotahi earlier this year have not been published.

Albany ward councillors John Watson and Wayne Walker said the public mood on tolls had shifted since the regional fuel tax had been brought in and paying for both would be “double charging”.

Watson said in the meantime, the conversation within local and central government had also moved away from taxes and tolls to congestion charging.

He believed congestion charging was an inevitability and the council and Government may as well agree to skip tolling, scrap the fuel tax and get straight to it.

An alliance has been formed between Fulton Hogan, HEB Construction, Aurecon, Tonkin & Taylor and Ngāti Manuhiri for the project.

Last week, as part of its new annual budget, Auckland councillors voted to approve in principle a congestion charging system with a view to scrap the regional fuel tax. The Government has also indicated it will legislate for congestion charging in its emmissions reduction plan.

Asked if the toll for the motorway between Ōrewa and Pūhoi would also be scrapped if congestion charges were implemented, Wood’s office said it would depend on which charging model was used.

The congestion charging model could see motorists pay between $1.50 and $3.50 per trip to access either some or all of Auckland’s motorway network, according to a report from the Ministry of Transport.

In comparison, tolling Penlink would cost Whangaparāoa commuters between $3 and $4 per trip if they chose to use the new road.

Watson said Penlink would take pressure off the wider network, benefiting other communities besides Whangaparāoa – so it wasn’t fair for peninsula residents to pick up the whole bill.

“If we were bush lawyers, we would argue that Silverdale and Millwater residents are getting the benefits, but they’re not paying for it.”

Wood said the Penlink highway project was estimated to cost $760 million.

The project would reduce motorists’ commute to the city by 20 minutes and provide enough capacity for 20 years of growth, he said. The design also allowed for extensions to add capacity.

The construction contract was awarded to an alliance formed by Fulton Hogan, HEB Construction, Aurecon and Tonkin & Taylor.

Works will begin around October and the project is expected to be completed by late 2026.

The road has been gifted the name O Mahurangi by Te Kawerau a Maki chairperon Te Warena Taua and Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust chairperson Mook Hohneck. It refers to the historic 90,000-acre Mahurangi Māori land block which spanned from Takapuna to Wellsford.