$110.783m of highway spending comes from the govt – payments to the news media will come from corporate giants
Transport Minister David Parker today explained what is happening to $110,783,000 of the government’s $419 million Transport Resilience Fund.
Work will start this year on the first 94 projects under a fund dedicated for early preventative works to protect our state highway network from future severe weather disruption, Parker said.
Nearly $44 million will be invested in Northland, including a $25 million project to help stabilise subsidence risks across the region’s highway network.
On the West Coast, $22.7 million will go into several projects including river erosion protection works at the Gates of Haast bridge on State Highway 6.
The 94 projects are part of a wider, multi-year programme that Parker says will help ensure essential transport connections around the country remain open and accessible, “now and in future”.
It is comforting to hear the government is not squandering almost $111 million on essential transport connections that will not provide benefits in the future.
The full list of 2023/24 state highway projects funded by the Transport Resilience Fund is available at https://www.nzta.govt.nz/transport-resilience-fund.
Parker explained that the list doesn’t include cyclone-hit Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay, because immediate recovery efforts are the priority in those regions this year.
Answers were provided to another question of interest to citizens (or rather, it has given us an update) –
On the West Coast, $22.7 million will go into several projects including river erosion protection works at the Gates of Haast bridge on State Highway 6.
The 94 projects are part of a wider, multi-year programme that Parker says will help ensure essential transport connections around the country remain open and accessible, “now and in future”.
It is comforting to hear the government is not squandering almost $111 million on essential transport connections that will not provide benefits in the future.
The full list of 2023/24 state highway projects funded by the Transport Resilience Fund is available at https://www.nzta.govt.nz/transport-resilience-fund.
Parker explained that the list doesn’t include cyclone-hit Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay, because immediate recovery efforts are the priority in those regions this year.
Answers were provided to another question of interest to citizens (or rather, it has given us an update) –
- What new constraints are being imposed on us?
The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill, which has passed its first reading, establishes 19 new marine protection areas. It…
- Extends the country’s first marine reserve, Cape Rodney – Okakari Point Marine Reserve (Goat Island) and extending Whanganui A Hei (Cathedral Cove) Marine Reserve, on the Coromandel Peninsula.
- Establishes 12 new high protection areas to protect and restore marine ecosystems, while allowing for customary practices of tangata whenua.
- Establishes five new seafloor protection areas to preserve sensitive seafloor habitats by prohibiting bottom-contact fishing methods and other activities which harm the seafloor.
This press statement came hard on the heels of news the two ministers delivered on Tuesday that the government will ban bottom-trawling ban for most of Hauraki Gulf.
Here’s another question.
- What are they doing to keep the mainstream media on side?
He has introduced legislation to support New Zealand media companies in their bid to get fair deals from big online tech companies when their news content is shared online.
He described the Fair Digital News Media Bargaining Bill as a key part of the government’s commitment to support “a free and independent news media ecosystem in Aotearoa”.
The Bill encourages voluntary commercial agreements between New Zealand news media organisations and online platforms, which are often large multinational companies.
Where voluntary agreements cannot be reached, the Bill provides a backstop to support a fair bargaining process that will result in commercial arrangements between companies.
The future of the local newspaper is under threat, with New Zealand news companies now predominantly online and operating in an industry controlled by global companies with unprecedented market power, Jackson said.
“It is increasingly difficult for news media companies to enter fair commercial discussions with these platforms.
“Online companies such as Google and Meta make money through advertising and other services, but do not pay news creators for the use of their content online. Attempts by news media companies to bargain for the value of their news content are often unsuccessful.”
Latest from the Beehive
31 AUGUST 2023
The Government is introducing a scheme to support New Zealand media companies in their bid to get fair deals from big online tech companies when their news content is shared online.
Work will start this year on the first 94 projects under a dedicated fund for early preventative works to protect our state highway network from future severe weather disruption.
The Government moved to protect the Hauraki Gulf for future generations today with the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill passing its first reading.
Point of Order is a blog focused on politics and the economy run by veteran newspaper reporters Bob Edlin and Ian Templeton
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