Yesterday I put out a statement welcoming the government’s intention to invest more in Auckland’s infrastructure.

It was good to hear the Finance Minister Bill English identifying the need to invest in a second harbour crossing for Auckland and more rail infrastructure.

You can read the full infrastructure plan here.

We need to be thinking 10-20 years ahead in how we plan for the development of our region because by that time almost two million people will be living here.

The new Auckland Council will need to do a lot of work putting together an infrastructure plan for the city which takes a look at the best option for the new harbour crossing – which is why the council should have control over transport and why it should not be a CCO.

I’ve blogged more about that last point here.

It’s pleasing that the government’s plan also identifies increasing demand in the Auckland rail network. We’re seeing exponential growth in the numbers of Aucklanders taking the train and our future lies in getting more people off the road.

Last year there were 58.6 million public transport passenger trips across the city last year – the highest since the mid-1980s. It’s good news that more people are using public transport, however it is disappointing that in 2009 public transport use is where it was in the mid 1980s.

In Manukau we’ve started work on the first extension to Auckland’s rail network since the 1930s. And this week I attended the first trip through the new New Lynn station. There is a lot happening and we have a chance to build on that.

Auckland needs to get on with developing the inner-city rail loop to open the network, introduce integrated ticketing and deliver our new electric trains.

I know that the success of the new Auckland Council will be judged on how it delivers improvements to Auckland’s transport infrastructure. It’s good the government also sees the need.