O'Rourke Denis: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeO'Rourke Denis: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 18 March 2015. Volume:704;Page:2343. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]3.DENIS O’ROURKE (NZ First) to the Minister for Economic Development: Does he stand by his statement to RadioLive’s Duncan Garner yesterday in respect of starting the Pūhoi to Wellsford Motorway that “2016 sounds like a pretty good date to me”?Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister for Economic Development): I thank the member for his question and I absolutely do. The New Zealand Transport Agency expects construction of the Pūhoi to Wellsford motorway to start in late 2016 and to take around 5 years which is fantastic for the people of Northland. Pūhoi to Wellsford will open up Northland to economic development and tourism by providing a critical link between Northland and the rest of the country. Yesterday I happened to be in the north of Northland and they were telling me it could not come soon enough which is why it is important they support a good local who understands the needs of the north and who does not just fly in and fly out on his helicopter.Denis O’Rourke: Can the Minister please tell the House when the board of inquiry was held on the 19 kilometre Warkworth to Wellsford section of the Pūhoi to Wellsford motorway which is vital to the economic future of Northland?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: That part has not yet happened as the member may have noticed. Pūhoi to Warkworth has and it is expected to start construction next year which is very exciting. And I remind the House that before this Government came along the commitment of the other side was to stop a four-lane motorway in a paddock outside Pūhoi and never extend it further.Denis O’Rourke: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The question asked whether the Minister would tell the House when the board of inquiry was held. That was not addressed at all.Mr SPEAKER: It certainly was addressed. He said it has not occurred for that particular section and then referred to the section that it had been. The question has been addressed.Phil Twyford: Can he confirm the New Zealand Transport Agency’s advice that at this stage in respect of the route between Warkworth and Wellsford there is no indicative route available and no start date for construction; if not is he announcing that a route has been set and a start date has been confirmed?Mr SPEAKER: The Hon Steven Joyce—either of those two supplementary questions.Hon STEVEN JOYCE: This will come as no surprise to the member also known as the “member against the ‘Holiday Highway’ ” as he calls it—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Just answer the question.Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Well it happens to be true. The answer to the question is that no that particular part of the route has yet to be set but the people of Northland know that this Government is committed to Pūhoi to Wellsford and the Labour Party hates Northland which is why they threw Willow-Jean Prime under the bus. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! I am wanting to call the next supplementary question and we need a bit of assistance to do so.Denis O’Rourke: Following on from Mr Twyford’s supplementary question can the Minister please tell the House how construction of the Warkworth to Wellsford motorway could start in 2016 when there are no detailed plans for this vital and difficult section of road and no resource consents or designations for it either?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: The member is creating a straw person and then trying to shoot it down. The Government has committed that the Pūhoi to Warkworth section will start in 2016. That is what we have said and the member is trying to talk about Warkworth to Wellsford. Believe me that will happen under this Government provided the people of Northland and the people of New Zealand continue to support us.Denis O’Rourke: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker.Mr SPEAKER: If the point of order is that the question has not been addressed the member is wrong so he does not need to raise that as a point of order. Has he an alternative point of order?Denis O’Rourke: I seek leave to table the February 2015 Tai Tokerau Northland growth study in which these road priorities are listed and which states that resource consents for only the Pūhoi to Warkworth section have been done.Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table that particular document. Is there any objection? There is none. It can be tabled.Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.Denis O’Rourke: When the Minister told Duncan Garner and the people of Northland concerning building the motorway all the way to Wellsford from 2016: “That’s my plan that’s the Government’s plan.” can he explain how the Government will able to build the key Warkworth to Wellsford section for just the $42.3 million listed in the draft Auckland regional land transport plan through to 2024-25 when that section of road will cost at least a billion dollars?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Let me explain this to the member. There are two sections of the road. One runs from Pūhoi to Warkworth and the second one runs from Warkworth to Wellsford. And when we say we are starting construction next year it is on the first half of the road as has been said now for some time including in our pre-election policy. For Mr O’Rourke to come up today and say: “Well we’re not even sure about Warkworth to Wellsford.” I am pleased he is proposing to join us in support of this road because his leader is wandering around Northland saying it is not even important in Auckland and somehow Wellsford is not part of Northland.Denis O’Rourke: Given it was bridges over troubled waters last week and realistically only half of a motorway this week which actually misses Northland completely can Northlanders expect any more half-baked promises next week to build routes further north and especially through areas of particularly low resilience such as at Brynderwyn and Te Hana?Mr SPEAKER: Order! It is meant to be a concise supplementary question. If there is ministerial responsibility I call the Hon Steven Joyce.Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Presumably I get a little latitude with the answer. This Government is unambiguously supportive of having a decent motorway link between Auckland and Northland and that will bring great economic development for the region. I do not know what the member is trying to achieve but in case he does not know it his leader is wandering around Northland saying that he is in favour of doing things for Northland. Meanwhile Mr O’Rourke is down here arguing against bridges arguing against highways—Mr SPEAKER: Order!Ron Mark: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I know you have ruled once before about people referring to members not in the House and I did let that go initially but the moment he referred to the present tense then that member is out of order.Mr SPEAKER: No. Order! There is no Standing Order that says you cannot refer to absence from the House. It has been a long-term convention in this House and I accept the point the member is making that it is unhelpful and will lead to disorder if members do refer to the absence of any member.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. It was incorrect for Minister Joyce to refer to the Rt Hon Winston Peters as wandering around Northland. He is in fact flying around in a helicopter.Mr SPEAKER: Order! That is not a point of order either. [Interruption] Order! I think Mr Brownlee is going to get a lesson for the disorder that he now causes by raising such a point of order.Ron Mark: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. That is my point and I am going to ask you to reflect because other members who have—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! The member will sit down. That is not a point of order either. Is there a further supplementary question?Denis O’Rourke: When will this Government honestly admit to the people of Northland that the only way it can be made to keep any of its many election promises is by voting in Winston Peters and not some naive National Party no-hoper?Mr SPEAKER: Order! There is absolutely no ministerial responsibility for that question.