3. JEANETTE FITZSIMONS (Co-Leader—Green) Link to this
to the Minister of Finance
What analysis was undertaken and by whom, in terms of the New Zealand Transport Strategy, before he announced that an extra $1.5 billion would be allocated largely to roading infrastructure?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Minister of Finance) Link to this
Relevant agencies contributed to the Government’s analysis, which underlined significant funding shortfalls, important congestion and safety issues, and considerable uncertainty about the forward path without firm and rapid action.
Jeanette Fitzsimons Link to this
Has the Government sought any advice from Crown Law on whether announcing a list of projects to be funded with the new money is legal, given that they are not part of any land transport programme and given Land Transport New Zealand’s statutory independence in this respect?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Link to this
The Government consulted with Land Transport New Zealand and Transit about the list of indicative projects.
Hon Maurice Williamson Link to this
Did some of the analysis done to justify that expenditure increase in roading include a look at the Allen Consulting Group report from 2004, which showed that if $2.4 billion was spent on just four major roading projects, the benefit to the country in economic, social, and environmental terms would be about $4.50 for every dollar spent?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Link to this
That report was not looked at in the specific context of the Budget decisions, but clearly Ministers were aware of that report.
Jeanette Fitzsimons Link to this
I ask the Minister again who provided what analysis that this list of roading projects was better at meeting the requirements of the Land Transport Management Act—namely, assisting economic development, assisting safety and personal security, improving access and mobility, protecting and promoting public health, and ensuring environmental sustainability—and that this was better than spending a greater proportion of the money on public transport; was it his finance officials, was it transport officials, or was it Land Transport New Zealand?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Link to this
Spending on public transport has been significantly increased under this Government. Many hundreds of millions of dollars are, in fact, being spent on public transport. On the point the member originally asked about, I reply that the relevant statutory authorities provided the list of indicative projects.
Peter BrownDoes the Minister share my view that the best advice Jeanette Fitzsimons and the Greens could be given is that they should read the Allen report, where they might get some idea, at least, of the economic importance of roads to this country?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Link to this
I would not regard the Allen report as the last word on this matter. The Government does believe in an appropriate mix of transport funding via the means of new roads, maintenance of roads, and public transport. I emphasise again that quite a lot of the roading work is for safety issues—it is about saving people’s lives and saving people from serious injury.
Keith LockeWhy did the Government set up the Auckland Regional Transport Authority to decide which projects best meet Aucklanders’ needs, and then refuse to fund the public transport priorities that that body determines and, instead, override Aucklanders’ wishes and impose lower-priority roading projects?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Link to this
I see an increasing number of press statements coming out of the Auckland Regional Council from its members, specifically the chair, disassociating themselves on behalf of Aucklanders in that particular regard. But this Government has never set up any agency to decide a wish list from which we would pay for whatever that agency wanted. If that is the basis on which the Greens would be funding any transport proposals then, of course, they would have to build a lot more roads than we are proposing to build within this Budget.
Jeanette Fitzsimons Link to this
How will spending an extra $1.5 billion on roads mean that the National Land Transport Programme—and I quote from the Act—“ensures environmental sustainability”; and what analysis did he receive about how the biggest roading programme in New Zealand’s history will affect carbon dioxide emissions, air quality, water runoff, and noise pollution?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Link to this
A number of those factors, of course, are taken into account in terms of planning consents when roads are being built. It is equally true to say that large amounts of traffic, stuck in traffic in Auckland, going nowhere and pouring out fumes, is probably a particularly bad way of dealing with greenhouse gas emissions.