'Cycle trail employed 700 people'

National cycle trail, stemming from 2009 Jobs summit, has created more than 700 jobs so far, PM Key says

14th Mar 12, 9:52am by Alex Tarrant

Prime Minister John Key during the 2011 election campaign

More than 700 people have been employed so far to build trails for the national cycle way, one of the central ideas to originate from the government's 2009 Jobs summit.

Prime Minister John Key gave the number of those employed when announcing the Otago Central Rail Trail would join the National Cycle Trail.

“The idea was to build a nationwide network of cycle trails that would emulate the benefits of the Otago Central Rail Trail and promote New Zealand as an international cycling destination,” Key said of the national trail.

More than 60% of the New Zealand Cycle Trail’s 2,400 kilometres of off-road trails had been completed, with four Great Rides now fully open and three more to open in the next three months, he said.

“The economic benefits of the New Zealand Cycle Trail are already apparent."

"More than 700 people have been employed so far to build the trails."

"Local bike shops, cafés and accommodation operators are also reporting strong interest from domestic and international tourists, as well as locals wanting to get out on their bikes,” Key said.

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11 Comments

by Matt in Auck | 14th Mar 12, 10:16am 1331673369

mmm, what a joke!I don't have a problem with the initiative, I think its good. Its just silly though how a fairly trivial thing can be made to seem so grand

by Stephen Hulme | 14th Mar 12, 10:24am 1331673840

Supply creates demand, right?

I guess there will be a need to call upon ACC to fund medical care for rising numbers of injured cyclists.

Law of unintended consequences.

The effort and money could have been better employed elsewhere.

by Josh | 14th Mar 12, 10:48am 1331675314

Quite the opposite. Less bikes on the dangerous roads needs to be taken into account.

by Haggis Hague | 14th Mar 12, 11:52am 1331679168

700 jobs is 700 jobs. I bet those employed don't think it's a joke, or their families. The only criticism I have is that Mr Key isn't shouting enough about what's been achieved already. Also, the public need to know that the individual cycleways are tied to a grander vision, decades away, where each and every 1 will be linked by a connecting trail, totally independent of and away from the state highway system, where it will be possible to cycle from one end of each island to the other without ever leaving the trail. FANATASTICA!!!

by Kleefer | 14th Mar 12, 1:16pm 1331684213

If "creating jobs" is what matters most, why not just get thousands of unemployed people to dig ditches and get thousands more to fill them in once they're finished?

by Haggis Hague | 16th Mar 12, 9:12am 1331842371

Too much vinegar on your fish 'n chips I reckon, Kleefer. Jobs need to follow a vision otherwise neither the employer nor the employee is invested sufficiently. But then, you know that already, you scallywag.

How about training young people to cut walking tracks into previously hard - t o - negotiate native bush? We've got plenty of that, right? Why stop at a cycle way? That's a vision that can supply work for many generations but even better, work that cannot be more easily or efficiently done via technology. Young men especially (but also some young women I imagine) would gain skills and fitness and a sense of self-worth the modern world is steadily denying them. See the bridge buster turned bridge builder last night on the box? See the of pride he felt in being part of a legacy that would benefit the entire country? Old buggers aren't the only ones capable of seeing past their navels: Youth just needs something to believe in.

by redcows1 | 14th Mar 12, 12:02pm 1331679728

Love the cycle way and glad we have one in Opotiki. And there has been large numbers of people from all over the globe riding it and it's not even officially open yet.

But is this the best this gvt and it's expensive summit can come up with? Better than the knowledge wave of ten years previous I guess.

by Samal Bahay Kubo | 14th Mar 12, 12:13pm 1331680424

When they say it's created 700 jobs, is that 700 permanent jobs? Or are they counting the total number of part-time workers who have worked on the cycle way over the last 3 years? Call me a suspicious old Aunt Sally, but I suspect that this is the case.

And this was just about the only job creation scheme that Jonkey came up with at the 09 summit.

It's pitiful - 200 temporary jobs per year for the last 3 years.

by Haggis Hague | 18th Mar 12, 12:18pm 1332026308

What idea did you come up with and send in to be considered, Samal?

by Haggis Hague | 18th Mar 12, 12:18pm 1332026311

What idea did you come up with and send in to be considered, Samal?

by Samal Bahay Kubo | 18th Mar 12, 12:57pm 1332028673

Thanks for asking Haggis. I'm not a NZer, so there was no point at all in me offering an opinion as NZers never listen to anything anyone from overseas says. How do I know this is true? Experience and also because I was told straight to my face not to bring my international experience to NZ and expect locals to listen.

So here is my advice, Haggis. The first thing NZ could do is learn from overseas job-creation experience. Stop reinventing the wheel - which, I might observe is a particularly NZ time-wasting, opportunity wasting habit. I offer the utterly useless RMA as my prime evidence. Home grown and half-baked!

700 jobs temporary jobs!? How may jobs are lost week by week in NZ manufacturing? It didn't even stem the flow, yet you are patting Jonkey on the back for a job well done. You obviously aren't serious about NZ's unemployed masses...I am!