In a major election-announcement made today at the busy Dominion roadside in Auckland, the Labour leader Andrew Little reaffirmed their commitment to "bring forward" the proposed Dominion road light-rail project immediately if elected to power next year.
"The level of traffic congestion is so great now that the 45-minute journey from city centre to Mt Roskill has now become a 55-minute journey and we have to make a commitment to move forward the plan," said Andrew Little.
"We would get the project underway as soon as possible," he further asserted.
As of now this project is proposed sometime between 2028 to 2038, and the Labour plans to bring it forward substantially to meet the growing demands of easing road congestion in the Auckland city.
This announcement was perfectly planned to coincide with the high octane Mt Roskill by-elections scheduled in early December this year.
The Labour leader was evasive of conceding to media prompts if this announcement was an "election bribe" for the Mt Roskill by-elections and attributed this announcement as a part of the Labour party's response to Auckland's overall problem of road congestion.
However, the fact that the Labour leader repeatedly referred this Dominion road rail project as starting from the city centre and "finishing at Mt Roskill" clearly suggested where the intentions are.
The proposed project has an estimated cost of $1.3 bn and the Labour plans to provide for $680 if elected to power next year, leaving the rest for the Auckland council.
The Labour party plans to "provide funding by prioritising this project and there would not be any affect on the existing housing and other properties in the area due to this project," believed Mr Little.
Michael Wood, the Labour party candidate for the Mt Roskill by-elections was also present on the occasion.