Chong hopes rail plan will appeal

New Plymouth mayoral candidate Murray Chong has released a plan he believes could save ratepayers $30 million while reinvigorating travel throughout the district.

The plan involves putting a hold on the proposed $28m Coastal Walkway extension from Bell Block to Waitara, which he believes is facing massive cost increases, and investing $10m in developing a transport rail network between New Plymouth, Waitara and Inglewood.

Chong’s plan includes purchasing and modernising four former New Zealand Rail carriages and constructing platforms at key points along the route.

‘‘When you look into it, it ticks all the boxes,’’ he said.

This included being able to cater for proposed new housing zones near Bell Block and Smart Rd, reducing carbon emissions from construction of the Coastal Walkway extension, reducing traffic, and creating tourism stops throughout the district.

His proposal includes a specific tourism carriage, an open-air carriage for summer, and a carriage to hold bikes and mobility scooters.

Chong said he wanted to make it clear he did not want the Coastal Walkway extension canned. He just wanted it redesigned from a concreted path to a ‘‘pole road’’ suitable for cyclists.

The three-term councillor is one of seven potential candidates for the mayoralty, including incumbent Neil Holdom, fellow sitting councillors Dinnie Moeahu and Sam Bennett, businessman Peter Hardgrave, former candidate Greg MacKay, and Murray ‘‘Muzz’’ McDowell.

Chong said he was motivated to stand for mayor because there needed to be a change of thinking around the elected members’ table.

He cited prudence and transparency as his two cornerstones to stand on.

Chong was the only councillor who voted against this year’s longterm plan, which sets out more than $3 billion worth of work over the next 10 years. While he supported the $248m needed to upgrade water infrastructure, he gave a serious warning about other major projects he said were on track for massive cost overruns.

‘‘It’s my prediction, and my prediction has been confirmed in several places, that the three main projects (Tūparikino Active Community Hub, Coastal Walkway extension and Yarrow Stadium) that this Taranaki community is facing, when you firm them together, have added up to a blowout of $100m,’’ he said.

Chong said he believed budget blowouts right across the New Plymouth District Council had become ‘‘the new normal’’, and he was not happy about it.

He also predicted that ratepayers would have to come up with another $20m above the $40m the council had already pledged if the Tūparikino Active Community Hub was to get the required external funding it needed to progress. He believed that the money saved by changing the Coastal Walkway extension and introducing a light rail link could be used to offset extra costs of the hub.

However, to start controlling rising costs, Chong was advocating making it compulsory for any council-funded project to come back to elected members any time there was a projected budget increase of $1m.

Chong said he believed his involvement in the Parliament protests would not be a turnoff for voters, and he did not endorse the storming of the offices in New Plymouth by protesters, despite being in the vicinity of the building at the time.

Meanwhile, he does not have a clear deputy mayor in mind if he is elected. He said he believed the fact that there were seven potential candidates was a reflection that the ‘‘ship’’ was not running right.