An Auckland business group has slammed North Shore's mayor for thanking those in the provinces lumped with a tax to help Auckland's transport woes.
[comment caption= What do you think of Mr Williams' comments?]Mayor Andrew Williams yesterday expressed his "heartfelt thanks to people in the provinces for their generous contribution" towards sorting out his region's transport problems.
"This is brilliant news for Auckland that we will not have to fund our rail electrification, ferry upgrades, integrated ticketing and the Penlink causeway solely from fuel taxes taken within the Auckland region," he said.
"I would like to extend my thanks to the people from the likes of Gore, Timaru, Hokitika, Waipukurau, Stratford, Opotiki, and Kerikeri..."
The comments followed the Government's announcement it would scrap regional fuel taxes - including Auckland's which was to increase to 9.5c a litre in two years - and replace them with an increase in the national petrol tax.
Newmarket Business Association head Cameron Brewer said Mr Williams' comments were "unnecessarily provocative, patronising, and potentially damaging".
They had set back Auckland's relationship with the rest of the country and were potentially negative for business.
"This man does not represent the views and attitudes of everyday Aucklanders," Mr Brewer said. "Many Aucklanders, including myself, come from small towns.
"In this difficult economic environment they won't appreciate this antagonism one bit."
He said rural towns were feeling the pinch now more than ever, and that such arrogance coming from Auckland was a bad look for everyone.
"With that in mind, Mr Williams needs to apologise for any offence he may have caused."
Southland district Mayor Frana Cardno agreed the Government's measure would hurt.
"Southlanders have to travel further for day-to-day things, such as school and supermarkets, and businesses have to freight product to and from the provinces.
"The changes will see costs going up at all levels in the provinces," she said.
Mrs Cardno said Southlanders recognised Auckland had transport problems, but so did others.
"We would welcome Transport Minister Simon Joyce coming down to talk to us about Southland's roading and transport network," Mrs Cardno said.
TV3 News spoke to other mayors today who agreed the comments from Mr Williams appeared arrogant.
However, Mr Williams insisted his comments were genuine with no sarcasm intended.
He said he hoped other New Zealanders would visit Auckland to take advantage of the public transport they had helped pay for.
