Tauranga stories
Transport critics say National's road-heavy plan revives costly schemes, with old estimates leaving a multibillion-pound funding gap.
The new Hamilton facility could cut cargo costs by up to 30% and shift Upper North Island freight off roads and onto rail.
Passenger rail could cut emissions and widen access, but chronic underinvestment and patchy national coordination still hold New Zealand back.
With New Zealand facing a $210 billion infrastructure deficit, the lobby is urging wider use of private capital and reforms to local funding.
A Tauranga skip-bin firm has been fined NZD $250,000 after a new worker was crushed and left with life-changing brain injuries.
Verified camera data shows 125 fatigue sleep events a day on New Zealand roads, with truck and car drivers nodding off more often.
Passengers could miss out unless new inter-regional rail is funded sustainably, as Infrastructure New Zealand urges a focus on maintenance and existing metro upgrades.
The Takitimu North Link scheme could boost Western Bay of Plenty transport links and safety after making the Roads & Highways finals.
Councils face tighter deadlines as new rules could bring taller housing to city centres and transit hubs, raising pressure on infrastructure.
Supply chain bottlenecks could worsen as the port that handles 42% of New Zealand's container traffic faces a year of consent delays.
WorkSafe says directors face prosecution after a metal press left a worker with amputated fingers and exposed safety failings.
Additional public and transitional homes will be targeted at regional centres where demand has surged ahead of supply, worsening rents and overcrowding.
Transport industry groups say decades of stop-start planning could end if National’s $31 billion road and rail programme goes ahead.
The proposed $31 billion programme would reshape commuting in the upper North Island, while relying on RMA repeal and borrowing powers.
Better freight services and more reliable trains are set to follow, as the funding also covers new ferries and ageing locomotives.
New roads, rail, schools and hospitals should help address years of underinvestment, though critics question whether USD $12 billion is enough.
Civil contractors say the Government must back already designed transport works quickly to protect jobs as big projects finish.
Auckland could gain valuable waterfront land and Northland secure a major jobs boost if the freight port is shifted, but the bill is likely to run to billions.
A safety prosecution has exposed maintenance failures after a brake defect left two people badly injured and cost Sorensen Transport GBP £150,000.
Two artists from different disciplines have collaborated on a show that utilises virtual reality to take attendees into imaginative lands.
