The Breakfast Business meeting organised by Karori Rotary, in collaboration with Port Nicholson, was a success, with over 70 people attending to hear Chris Bishop MP and Minister, speak about his portfolios. Chris is also a Rotarian himself, being a member of Hutt City.
The Breakfast Business meeting organised by Karori Rotary, in collaboration with Port Nicholson, was a success, with over 70 people attending to hear Chris Bishop MP and Minister, speak about his portfolios. Chris is also a Rotarian himself, being a member of Hutt City.
In a very informative session, Chris spoke of the challenges he faces with the three major portfolios he holds - Housing, Resource Management Act and Sport and Recreation. He explained his priorities and the inter-connections between them and noted a lot of the work underway.
More locally, he explained the importance of addressing Wellington's infrastructure issues and painted a picture of the current environment where Wellington needs to regain confidence, direction and a 'can do' spirit that it has had in the past.
Post COVID and the difficult economic climate has made this a real challenge but Chris explained that officials are investigating a mega tunnel' option which would shave off 15 mins off the time to travel to the Eastern suburbs. Such a tunnel would take pressure off the Quays and allow the central area to thrive without having to accommodate the running of SH1 through the city. This would lead to better public transport flow.
Chris saw the need in the future for tolls on these new roads and noted that the public is now appreciating the need for a 'user pays/contribution' approach in the future as a way to raise revenue to build and maintain roads.
Chris said that that there had been serious underinvestment in Wellington water infrastructure and there was a need for better planning and thought given to funding mechanisms, including the use of metering.
The Minister spoke with enthusiasm on the Petone link road project linking Grenada to Petone and Transmission Gully. He said this would increase resilience, reduce congestion on the Hutt Road, and would allow better public transport from the city. Another benefit is the Petone link project would open up housing on the fringes.
In Chris' view, the country' greatest issue at present is the housing shortage. The cost of an average home is overpriced, currently 7.5-8 times the average household income. In 1979, the ratio was only 1:2. Our housing is severely unaffordable by world standards.
We need to develop housing not only in the fringes of cities but also intensifying through the development of selected high rises. The RMA fast- track process will assist in speeding up consenting and developments.
This Business Breakfast was a useful and enjoyable collaboration between RCPN and may pave the way for further joint- events in the future.
Howard Tong and David Barnes
Club Reporters