10. Transport Auckland—Rail to AirportJULIE ANNE GENTER (Green) to the Minister of TransportTransport Auckland—Rail to Airport10. JULIE ANNE GENTER (Green) to the Minister of Transport: Will the Government start building rail to the airport sooner if Auckland hosts the next America's Cup regatta or will Aucklanders still have to wait 30 years?Hon Simon Bridges: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I will stand corrected but that is not the question that I had. Mr SPEAKER: It is certainly the question that I have got. I will invite the member to repeat the question again. There appears to be some confusion but that is the question that I have.Julie Anne Genter: Will the Government start building rail to the airport sooner if Auckland hosts the next America's Cup regatta or will Aucklanders still have to wait 30 years?Hon SIMON BRIDGES (Minister of Transport): I think the position is that actually we need to get on with protecting a separate sole-purpose route right now. We also need to then get on with doing the construction. I think it is difficult to say exactly what the time frame is because for example on the route protection there is quite an intricate legal process that needs to be gone through with a notice of requirement that may take it into 2019. Julie Anne Genter: Given that airport rail has been the No. 1 transport priority for Aucklanders for over 7 years while he has been in Government why has it taken so long to show some leadership and get on to starting the project? Hon SIMON BRIDGES: I respectfully disagree with the member. The three projects that have been Auckland's clear priorities for some time have been the City Rail Link (CRL) the East-West Link and the Auckland-Manukau Eastern Transport Initiative. The Government is involved certainly in the first two of those and has worked very hard on them. All of that said I think we are not wedded to any one mode. We want to see it all happen and that is why we are investing so significantly in our biggest city.Julie Anne Genter: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I think the Minister may have misheard my question. I was talking about priorities for Aucklanders not his Government.Mr SPEAKER: No. There was lot in the question and the Minister said he just did not agree with it.Julie Anne Genter: Why is airport rail not a priority for his Government and a project of national significance given its importance to the city and to the country as a whole?Hon SIMON BRIDGES: I do not agree with what the member is saying actually. We are prioritising this by getting on and protecting the route—a separate sole-purpose route from Auckland CBD through to the airport—right now. That is a complex and actually quite expensive process and then we are going to get on with doing this. The issue of moving from rapid bus transit to rail is one that has got to be driven by the demand and the numbers that we see on this corridor but we are getting on and doing the work that is required.Julie Anne Genter: In that case will he commit to having airport rail or mass transit open by 2021 when Auckland hosts APEC and the next America's Cup?Hon SIMON BRIDGES: I commit absolutely to progressing this matter quickly which involves the route protection first on a very significant corridor and then getting on and doing the construction to have mass public transport on that. I think in terms of mode we have got to work through that and see how that goes. I would say though I know the member is very wedded to rail over roads. Actually in this Government we have seen the most significant investment into metropolitan rail in Auckland ever whether that is the electrification of rail at $1.7 billion or the biggest public transport project ever the CRL which we are making very strong progress on.Julie Anne Genter: Does he acknowledge that the number of people using Auckland's trains has far exceeded his Government's expectations when it was still delaying the start of the City Rail Link and it is highly likely that the same thing will happen to rail to the airport—therefore we should start building it as soon as possible?Hon SIMON BRIDGES: Well I think they have exceeded everyone's expectations and that is because we invested $1.7 billion in electrification at the start of our Government. That is why we are investing with Auckland and ourselves $3.4 billion in the biggest public transport project this country has ever seen CRL. We have invested hugely in transport infrastructure including public transport. It is a record this Government and I think New Zealanders should be very proud of indeed because it is making a real—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Bring the answer to a conclusion.Hon SIMON BRIDGES: —difference.Julie Anne Genter: Why is a motorway in Warkworth a major priority and project of national significance for his Government when it is carrying just 13000 vehicles each day when light rail to the airport would move that many people in less than 3 hours?Hon SIMON BRIDGES: Firstly we are investing in all of those things. I mean that is why we are protecting the route on this corridor—that is very important I agree with the member. Secondly I say what she says is insulting to the people of the north. They deserve actually a highway that gets them closer to the capital of commerce Auckland. They deserve the really game-changing nation-building work we are doing on that road of national significance. It will make a massive difference not just to the north but to New Zealand.Julie Anne Genter: Why will his Government not adopt the approach that has worked so well for Team New Zealand set an ambitious goal to have rail to the airport open by 2021 and then work together and take the steps to make it happen like the Green Party would?Hon SIMON BRIDGES: I think when it comes to transport infrastructure this is the most ambitious Government New Zealand has seen in many many decades—$11 billion through the Crown over the next 4 years some $32.5 billion going into public transport into roads and into rail. I think New Zealanders are noticing with all of the construction that is happening at the moment.