Williamson Maurice: General Debate 
Williamson Maurice: General Debate 
[Volume:630;Page:2292] 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON (National—Pakuranga) 
: 
 There are a number of things that one can prophesy and forecast in the world and at the time people do not listen at all and then many years later when those things happen everyone asks why someone did not say something about it. I can remember in the 1990s coming back from seeing some of the research laboratories in the United States that were looking at things like DVDs. I would go along to Cabinet and talk about those things called DVDs and everyone thought they were some sort of a disease that penicillin would cure. Now DVD is just a common everyday occurrence. 
I remember talking about the Internet. I had seen a trial of the Internet with email flowing into it. I came back so excited. I remember several of the senior Cabinet members saying that no one would even have a personal computer on his or her desk because it was so hot. The reason I am saying this is that I am sending another warning today and I hope it will be recorded in  
Hansard 
 properly so that the media and the talkback hosts will refer to this speech of mine made on 29 March about Auckland’s infrastructure deficit problems and the nightmare that people will face during all the years running up to but specifically at the time of the 2011 Rugby World Cup. I say that because the Prime Minister raced off to Ireland and gave assurances as part of the bid that infrastructure would be dealt with. So I want to raise with this House some specifics about what I think are the problems and how they will emerge. 
First I take members back to the Transit document of August last year. Remember this has been superseded by a new plan that wipes out half of that stuff and completely ridicules it but I will take Dr Cullen at his word: “We will find the money to go back to the August update.” 
John Key 
: He’s going to borrow it. 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON 
: OK we will take Dr Cullen at his word and assume we will go back to it. Even if we go back to this plan—the plan of August last year—I remind members what Auckland will be in the middle of when the Rugby World Cup is on. Here are the four biggies. The first is a second harbour crossing across the Mangere Bridge area. I have to say that while that is going on the disruption to traffic and so on will be catastrophic. If members do not know how important that is look at what happened when Transit closed the Mangere Bridge a while ago to do some work. 
John Key 
: On a Saturday. 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON 
: Yes on a Saturday and it caused absolute mayhem. I shall give members the exact dates for that particular bridge project. The Mangere Bridge extension the Manukau harbour crossing will start in 2009-2010 and finish in 2012-2013 so it will be well and truly into the middle of the mess— 
John Key 
: That’s if you’re lucky. 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON 
: That is if one is lucky as my colleague John Key says. But I am taking Dr Cullen at his word. There are some other big ones. I am sorry that the Minister of Transport is from Dunedin his predecessor was from Dunedin and the one before him was also from Dunedin and they do not understand Auckland’s transport problems. But I shall tell members about a couple of others. There is the Avondale extension of State Highway 20. Right now motorists come out of Auckland Airport head north down State Highway 20 towards the city cross the Mangere Bridge hit Hillsborough Road and there should be—and I am happy to pay for it—a sign that states: “You’re on your own from here suckers” because the motorway has just stopped altogether and motorists have to work their way through some little suburban street network to see whether they can get themselves to town. That can take an hour and a half or 2 hours and it is getting worse all the time. Is the Avondale extension of State Highway 20 which would take that motorway right through to join up to the north western motorway on the plan? Yes it is. It is on the plan for commencement in 2009-2010 and completion some 8 years later. So again it will not be built in time for the Rugby World Cup it will not be available; it will be just a major construction site causing more chaos and mayhem. 
How about the harbour bridge to city link? That is considered to be vital if we are to move transport from the North Shore in and out of the city. I have here the details of the harbour bridge to city link. This is better. Construction will start in 2008-2009 and finish in 2013-2014. So again the harbour bridge to city link will be halfway through its major construction when the Rugby World Cup is on. And here is the doozy of them all. I do not think that anybody who is not from Auckland really appreciates how vitally important the Newmarket viaduct is to the city. Until State Highway 20 is built the only north-south route through the city is via the Newmarket viaduct. During the day even at non-peak times it is crowded. It will be halfway through its refurbishment when the Rugby World Cup is on and that is an outrage.