Recognising rural Rodney’s contribution of both property rates and regional fuel tax to the Auckland Super City, mayoral candidate Craig Lord is vowing to reinstate the $124 million budgetary allocation that was previously promised for roading upgrades and maintenance, but removed from the budget at the 11th hour.

Critical also to Mr. Lords campaign will be his intention to “hard lobby” for the extension of a passenger rail service to Kumeu/Huapai, desperately needed to ease some of Auckland’s worst congestion, a direct result he says from “the disturbing practice of foisting urban development on communities with no infrastructural backing”

“Rodney is the largest and most geographically diverse ward in Auckland, from the highly urbanised areas of Warkworth and Kumeu to remote farming communities. The centralised governance structure of Auckland and inequitable rates return has done little to abate the historic fears these communities had during the Super City formation – I intend to change that.”

“Under my leadership our biggest city will no longer turn a blind eye to the infrastructure woes of the Rodney communities who are paying their way, but suffering the hand of unfair rates return and unprecedented growth without fair budget allocation”