Air New Zealand Paraparaumu function
Last Thursday night I was one of 350 people attending an Air New Zealand function at Southwards, celebrating the start of flights from Paraparaumu in October.
It will be a proud moment when direct flights to Auckland begin on October 24th, the day after the Rugby World Cup final.
Kapiti Airport owner Sir Noel Robinson has shown real vision and determination to make this happen. I remember when he came into my office in 2006 to tell me about the project – neither of us realised how much hard work it would take.
At times it has been a long and frustrating process for him, with a number of challenges to overcome. As local MP I pledged to support the development and I want to thank him for never giving up.
In some ways, this will mark the coming of age for our region. Around 100,000 people live between Porirua and Levin, and we’ll soon have a much more convenient option than driving all the way to Wellington or Palmerston North airports.
The message for locals now is “use it or lose it.” I’m confident it will be a popular service and if it goes well we might see more flights to new destinations.
The new expressway will have an interchange right on Kapiti Road, allowing good access to the airport and the Business Park. Transmission Gully and new, improved rail services will also help connect our region.
The Kapiti Airport Business Park has already attracted many jobs, and the revamped terminal (with a beach theme) has had tradespeople busy for months. Around 300 new jobs are expected once complete.
While many of us get excited about flying to Auckland, we also need to grab the opportunity to attract visitors from New Zealand’s biggest city. We need to encourage people to come here and experience the wonderful things this region has to offer.
New forecasts suggest we’ll have 95,000 people visiting New Zealand for the Rugby World Cup and plenty of them will be passing through our districts.
I believe our local tourism industry has great potential for growth, and one of the next challenges will be developing enough quality accommodation.
I’m looking forward to Kapiti Airport taking off.