‘We are doing it’: PM confident of Ashburton’s second bridge
Christopher Luxon stood in the Ashburton Event Centre in May last year and pledged that if elected, National would start constructing a new bridge for Ashburton in its first term.
One year later, during his first visit to Ashburton as Prime Minister, he remained confident of fulfilling that promise.
“Absolutely.
“We are in discussions with the [council] about the funding of that, which is being worked through right now.
“I can tell you we are very comfortable and confident we are going to get going on that shortly.
“We are doing it, it’s happening, and it’s going to get going this term for sure.”
The second bridge is a resilience project, providing a secondary crossing of the river with the existing bridge having closed twice in recent years due to flooding, cutting off the South Island.
It will also alleviate the congestion issues on State Highway 1.
The project is high on Minister of Transport Simeon Brown’s priority list, Luxon said
Brown unveiled the final Government Policy Statement on Land Transport at the end of June, which will be used by the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi in developing its National Land Transport Programme (NLTP), which is due out later this year.
Ashburton’s second bridge was flagged in the Policy Statement and now all eyes are on the release of the NLTP in September, which will confirm what projects will be funded over the next three years.
It will be an anxious wait for the Ashburton District Council, which has only budgeted a $7.5m contribution towards a project that is now estimated to cost $130m.
Chief executive Hamish Riach has confirmed the council is preparing an application to the Government’s $1.2 billion Regional Infrastructure Fund, which aims to boost infrastructure resilience and its ability to cope with population growth.
The second bridge “fits very well with the fund’s criteria” in the council’s view, he said.
Luxon’s visit to Ashburton began at Ashburton College, where principal Simon Coleman gave a tour of the ageing technology block that contrasted with the new built-for-purpose Rangitata block.
The second stage of the school's rebuild was added to the Ministry of Education value-for-money review list, along with 351 other building projects at 305 schools around the country.
Luxon then attended the RuralCo instore day event, which was an opportunity to see what was happening in the primary industry sector.
“Which of course is our most important sector and so critical for us to be able to continue to grow our country as we go forward," Luxon said.
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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61.8% Summer
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36.5% Winter
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1.6% Other - I'll share below
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