Kiwis need much better roads, not slower roads

appy New Year! 2023 has well and truly started and while the weather hasn’t been that great, I do hope you have been able to start the year refreshed and recharged for all that the year will bring.

Many Kiwis will have spent time on our roads over summer, visiting family and friends, or trying to get to the beach when it hasn’t been raining!

What is clear is that the state of our roads is the worst they have been for a long time, and almost everywhere you go around Auckland and New Zealand, speed limits are being reduced.

Late last year Auckland Transport announced it was slashing the speed limit on over 1600 roads around Auckland, while the Labour Government announced it was proposing to do the same to our state highways around the country. Many of these speed limit changes are being implemented right now.

Here in east Auckland, roads like Pakuranga Road and Ti Rakau Drive are having the speed limit unnecessarily reduced to 50km/h from 60kph, while Te Irirangi Drive will be reduced from 80kph to

60kph.

These changes are being driven by Labour’s new Setting of Speed Limits Rule 2022 which require all Road Controlling Authorities (like Auckland Transport) to set their speed limits in accordance with Government policy – which is simply to slow Kiwis down. Wellington is now effectively dictating to councils around New Zealand what their speed limit should be on all roads under their control.

This is nothing more than a band-aid on a major problem, which does nothing to actually improve the quality of our roads – something