April 01, 2020
Maori culture centre in Auckland infrastructure wish list
Auckland Council has flagged a Pasifika and Māori cultural centre at Manukau as one of the projects it could submit to a government team looking for infrastructure projects to boost economic activity in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s being called Te Papa North in what seems to be an effort to revive a plan to establish an outpost of the National Museum, Te Papa Tongarewa in Tāmaki Makaurau.
Other proposals could include speeding up the construction of cycleways, creating the charging network needed to electrify the city’s bus fleet, building infrastructure to allow intensive residential and commercial precincts around the new City Rail Link stations at Mt Eden, Karangahape Rd and Aotea Centre, and bringing forward separation of wastewater from stormwater to clean up Auckland’s harbours.
Mayor Phil Goff says Auckland has a backlog of infrastructure projects which can be started quickly.
He says as was the case in the 1930s in New Zealand, infrastructure projects with long-term benefits for the country can be used to stimulate the economy with a multiplier effect for job recovery.
The Government has appointed a team led by Crown Infrastructure Partners chair Mark Binns which will work alongside the Provincial Development Unit to identify projects that could be funded.
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