Brown SimeonSIMEON BROWN (National—Pakuranga): When New Zealanders are facing a cost of living crisis is it responsible for this Government to be proposing to spend up to $29.2 billion on a slow tram from the Auckland CBD to the airport—$29.2 billion—which amounts up to $16000 per household for all New Zealand households? Let me remind this House of what this Government promised. The Leader of the Opposition at the time Jacinda Ardern said in 2017 that light rail will be built to Mount Roskill from the Auckland CBD by 2021. Well last time I looked at my calendar it's 2022 and nothing has been done about this. But the problem is not only has nothing been done—their promise has failed—but the cost keeps going up every time they keep talking about it and the Minister of Transport had the audacity to speak in the House about what parts of the Budget should be cut or where should savings be found. Well I can tell you that Mr Doolittle" the Minister of Transport could find heaps of ways to try and save money by stopping wasting money in his transport portfolio: $50 million for a cycle bridge—$50 million for a cycle bridge—cancelled; $35 million for Let's Get Wellington Moving. Well nothing's happened. All they've done is propose a pedestrian crossing and slowing a few streets down. Let's Get Wellington Moving has become "Let's Get Wellington Consulting".And what about that Te Huia train between Hamilton and Auckland: $90 million and—guess what!—a subsidy of $280 per passenger per trip. It's faster to go in your ute between Hamilton and Auckland and it emits more than going in your ute. There's some more money that could be saved by the Minister of Transport. But let's get back to light rail with the $29.2 billion price tag. It promised to be about $1.3 billion in 2017. Then it went up to $6 billion as soon as they got into Government and some officials told them to be a bit careful. Then it became $10 billion when it was going down the twin-track process. The twin-track process sounded very exciting; it didn't go anywhere. Then it got cancelled just before the election by some coalition partner before coming back in this term and being put forward as an indicative business case which said $14.6 billion. But wait there's more: Treasury has now come out with its advice where it said it could cost up to $29.2 billion. I think the public needs to hear what Treasury advised this House about this project. It said about this project that "Based on the lack of detail provided on how urban development will be achieved we have low confidence that these benefits will be realised resulting in poor public value." But wait there's more: they went on to say "We are concerned that overall affordability of the project is not factoring into analysis or advice from the Establishment Unit." They're not even taking into account the actual thing called affordability. During a cost of living crisis they weren't even thinking about affordability. They then said "It may be timely to remind the Unit of the need to ensure affordability of the project is a key consideration." But wait there's more: they then went on to say "We are supportive of consideration of options to progress the project and note the full suite of options should also include"—wait—"stopping the project." Well how's that gone Mr Wood? Did that go into the advice? Did that go into the consideration that Cabinet took into account when announcing in January the preferred option? They also said "Don't come up with a preferred option till you've done a bit more work." Well I come back to my original question. During a cost of living crisis in New Zealand is it responsible for this Government to be proposing to spend up to $29.2 billion on a slow tram from the CBD in Auckland down to the airport at a price of up to $16000 per household in New Zealand? I know what people in my electorate are coming up and saying: "We can't afford to fill up the tank of gas to get to work this week. The rent's gone up another 50 bucks. The price of food and groceries at the supermarket—it's becoming more expensive." These are the issues which people in New Zealand are caring about. The Government should take the advice stop the project and actually focus on the cost of living crisis that New Zealanders are facing."