1. Dr DON BRASH (Leader of the Opposition) Link to this
to the Prime Minister
Does she have confidence in the Minister of Transport; if so, why?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister) Link to this
Yes, because he is a hard-working and conscientious Minister.
What confidence can New Zealanders have in her Minister and in her Government, when today’s announcement from Transit shows that we will all be stuck sitting in traffic jams for a very long time to come because of Transit’s need to cancel a number of major roading projects all over the country?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
Clearly, the Leader of the Opposition does not know the difference between a draft document and a final outcome, and I know that the Leader of the Opposition will be greatly disappointed at the news reports: “Government rejects Transit cuts to roading programme”.
How on earth can the Prime Minister have any confidence at all in the Minister when an agency for which he is responsible produced an elaborate and expensive report dealing with a multibillion dollar programme over a full decade, only to have a more senior Minister advise, less than an hour after its release, that it was fit only for the dustbin?
Hon Dr Nick SmithRt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
They do not like it. I am sure the Leader of the Opposition would not want to hold the Minister of Transport responsible for the rise in oil prices, which has had an effect on the programme. I am happy to say that because this Government has not promised unaffordable tax cuts, it has room to move to address the issue.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
Has the Prime Minister any evidence to indicate whether the speed of the Leader of the Opposition in losing his grip on the Transit document was faster or slower than his speed in losing grip on the leadership?
Madam SPEAKER
Gerry BrownleeI raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I do not think it is acceptable for you to say just that the question is out of order. This Minister has been right at the heart of all the difficulties that we have had in the House trying to work our way through Standing Orders in recent days. We have just had a ruling from you about the appropriateness of questions to the Prime Minister and the expanse of her responsibilities, and here he is—a senior Minister—standing up and taking your ruling apart. This man should be required to apologise to the House, if not asked to leave it.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
We have had a tradition of Leaders of the Opposition throwing ballpoints, and now Transit reports, around the House. If they do that, they can expect a bit of retribution.
I thank both members. That was not a point of order. I had ruled the question out of order. I say to Mr Brownlee that it did not relate to my ruling. I had given that ruling, and that was the end of the matter. That was on a different point. The question was out of order. It was ruled out of order.
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I point out to you that Mr Mallard himself was the person on his feet yesterday calling the attention of the House to the use of ironic expressions and other such things in questions. That, I think, simply compounds the difficulty that he has got himself into.
Peter BrownDoes the Prime Minister recall that the Rt Hon Winston Peters, when Treasurer in 1998, transferred 2.1c per litre of petrol from the Crown account into the land transport account with a view that it would be an ongoing process, and does she recall also that that was stopped by the previous National Government immediately after the fall of the coalition; noting that, does she accept that had the funding process continued there would now be billions more dollars in roading investment, the country would be far better off economically, and many New Zealanders who have been killed would still be alive, and that the current temporary Leader of the Opposition would be lauding the Minister of Transport instead of questioning our confidence in him?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
I am absolutely prepared to accept the member’s word on what happened, and what that meant for the roading programme. I am sure that had the former Treasurer, the Rt Hon Winston Peters, been able to continue as he had planned, the roading programme would not have been allowed to lapse the way it did under the previous Government.
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
As I have been asked by Mr Brownlee, who interjects constantly, what has happened in the last 6 years, I tell him that land transport funding is up 80 percent.
What confidence can New Zealanders have in Labour’s so-called commitment to roading, when today’s announcement from Transit is so markedly different from its report issued only 6 months ago; and is it not true that over the last 6 years there has been a steady procession of commitments to build major road projects—almost none of which have been delivered on time?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
If one were to compare the value of projects under way or just completed in 2004-05 with those between 1999-2000, one would find that they are ten times as great as those under the National Government at the latter time. That is a good record.
Rt Hon Winston Peters Link to this
Is the Prime Minister aware that there was a bill before Parliament in 1995 to ensure that all money collected for the purpose of road construction and maintenance, and road safety, would be used for those purposes, but it was voted against by the National Party and, secondly, does she have any reports that a party in this country has received significant funding from those seeking to have roads privatised—which would explain the speed at which National’s leader dropped the report on fuel-based funding but maintains in his secret closet privatised funding from sources outside this country?
I remind members that in supplementary questions the Minister is required to answer only one question.
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
It is quite clear that in the last 6 years there has been a huge increase in funding and activity on our roads and in our public transport system, because this Government has been prepared to invest in that. I know that New Zealand First is fully supportive of a greatly speeded-up roading programme, and that is what we have been providing. Where the National Party got its largesse from—who knows? But the truth will come out.
Jeanette Fitzsimons Link to this
Can the Prime Minister assure the House that the commitment to increased funding for public passenger transport in the Government’s post-election agreements will not be sacrificed to make up the shortfall for Transit’s wish lists for even more new roads?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
That is certainly not the intention. I think where the member and I would agree is that there is no roading solution to the problems; there is a multimodal solution that covers alternatives to transport: roading, walking, cycling, and public passenger transport.
Does the Prime Minister recall her much-vaunted commitment in December 2003 to radically accelerate the road-building programme in Auckland, and the letter from the head of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce 18 months later saying that no acceleration was visible at that point, or the repeated empty promises from Transit to build State Highway 20, the Mount Roskill extension; and what does that say about how seriously we should take this latest Transit programme?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
Well, if the member had had time even to glance at the programme, he would have seen there is an absolute commitment to State Highway 20 in it. That is the first point. Secondly, I am sure it will be a great concern to him that the head of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce has come out today and said that it is taking great comfort from the fact that the Government finds the document unacceptable—and will do something about it.
Will the Prime Minister now commit to spending all the revenue generated from the petrol excise tax on roads; if not, why not?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
Yes, I could certainly quote the leader of New Zealand First as saying the National Party never did, and never made any sign of doing so. I can say that because of the rate at which spending on land transport has accelerated, that day cannot be too far away.
Rodney HideWhen did her Minister first alert her to the $635 million shortfall, and what action has she or her Minister of Finance taken to overcome the problem since that alert?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
Ministers have been aware since before Christmas that there was likely to be a plan of this kind produced by Transit, not least because of the ripple-through effect of oil price increases on bitumen and other costs in the construction industry, and also because of the shortfall in revenue. So from before Christmas Ministers have been actively turning their minds to how this would be addressed, and Mr Hide will recall that this was mentioned in the statement I gave last Tuesday, and Dr Cullen has been giving interviews about it for some time.