A spokesperson was unavailable at edition time to answer questions about the rumoured China Rail funding offer. Other claims about any NRC involvement in the road and rail link job were "outrageous", he said. At its last meeting the council went into confidential mode to revisit discussions the previous council started about a possible understanding with China Rail, Mr Nicolson said. An MoU would only be a "high-level" paper outlining the council's role and the kind of relationship it could have with China Rail, Mr Nicolson said. Mr Peters said that despite any agreements the NRC might make with China, or China Rail with local business, no deal could go ahead without central government approval.

Source: New Zealand Herald March 27, 2017 05:01 UTC