Prime Minister John Key and Transport Minister Steven Joyce will make a pre-budget announcement about KiwiRail this morning, two days ahead of the full 2010 budget.The announcement follows anger after the state-owned company last week said it would not te
Prime Minister John Key and Transport Minister Steven Joyce will make a pre-budget announcement about KiwiRail this morning, two days ahead of the full 2010 budget.
The announcement follows anger after the state-owned company last week said it would not tender for a $500 million contract to build Auckland's new electric train fleet.
Rail and Maritime Transport Union general secretary Wayne Butson said that decision was a slap in the face for hundreds of skilled rail workers at the Hillside and Woburn workshops, and was "defeatism at its worst."
A Berl Economics report commissioned by Dunedin City Council and the union estimated the work would add between 770 to 1270 jobs and $232m to $250m to gross domestic product.
Mr Key said he had huge confidence in the Hillside workshop and hoped international tenderers would consider using Hillside where it made sense.
