2. Transport Infrastructure—State Highway Funding and Regional Fuel TaxHon SIMON BRIDGES (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime MinisterTransport Infrastructure—State Highway Funding and Regional Fuel Tax2. Hon SIMON BRIDGES (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government's policies and actions?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister): It won't surprise the member that I still stand by all my Government's policies and actions.Hon Simon Bridges: Does she stand by her Government's decision to strip $5 billion out of the State highway projects around New Zealand?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Again as I've answered in this House many many times we had an 11 percent reduction but a considerable increase in the amount of money that is going to local and regional roads and also a commitment particularly in Auckland to try and get a considerable number of people off our roads and travelling via public transport.Hon Simon Bridges: Is the Prime Minister disputing that there is $5 billion of reduction in the State highway budget over the next decade?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: In my answer I just referenced the difference in our State highway spend but also highlighted the fact that we are investing more in regional and local roads.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Of the much promised and vaunted four-lane extension from Whangarei all the way to Warkworth exactly how many dollars were committed by the prior Government which this Government inherited?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I believe the member is referring to the ghost roads that the last Government announced via press statement but did very little else.Hon Simon Bridges: By how much will rebalancing transport spending away from regional State highway upgrades to metropolitan public transport increase New Zealand's productivity?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: There's actually no such thing as regional State highways but as we have continually pointed out in this House what we have instead—[Interruption] SPEAKER: Order! I'm going to ask the Prime Minister to resume her seat. I'm going to ask the Minister of Finance and the Leader of the Opposition to both not interject for the balance of this question and all of the supplementaries. Prime Minister can you start again please.Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: As I was saying we have made our decisions based on the fact that only 5 percent of the National Land Transport Fund is on improving local roads and yet half of the truck and car journeys are on them. The last Government was focused on spending its money on roads that were used by far fewer New Zealanders. That's why we're reinvesting in local roads unlike under the National Government who cut funding on the West Coast Taranaki Southland Otago Northland Hawke's Bay Gisborne and the Bay of Plenty.Hon Simon Bridges: Can the Prime Minister confirm that Auckland Council's annual wage bill has increased by $160 million per annum—more than the revenue of the regional fuel tax—and does she think it is better to charge Auckland families $700 a year in fuel tax or require the council to better manage its spending?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Obviously I have no responsibility for the nature of council spending. What I do know is that we have at least taken on the role of ensuring that we properly fund the commitments we want to make to Aucklanders who are currently spending a good chunk of their life in congestion—unlike the last Government who had a $5.9 billion hole in their Auckland Transport Alignment Project (ATAP) spending and no plan on how to fund some of the projects that would make the biggest difference to New Zealanders. That's the truth.Hon Simon Bridges: Why doesn't the Prime Minister commit to better management of both the Government and council's finances which will allow these projects to go ahead without the need for a regional fuel tax?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Again if the member wants to talk about better financial management he'll need to explain to this House how he was going to fund the $5.9 billion hole in ATAP which his Government let hang. Not only was it a $5.9 billion gap it grew to $9.7 billion when you factored in inflation and cost increases—another example of clever accounting by the National Party.Hon Simon Bridges: What specific steps will the Prime Minister take to ensure that the people of Southland don't get charged more as a result of Auckland's regional fuel tax?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: It's called a regional fuel tax because it is only intended for Auckland and Southland—[Interruption]. It'll be the fuel companies who will be answering questions if that's used as an excuse to hike prices on New Zealanders it's not intended for. But can I also ask then if the member is so opposed to the regional fuel tax which projects he intends to can as a result of not being able to fund them?SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! [Interruption] Order! I think the Prime Minister knows that she answers the questions; she doesn't ask them.Hon Simon Bridges: Is the Prime Minister going back on what she said on TVNZ's Breakfast this week when she made it quite clear that actually this regional fuel tax for Auckland might see prices increase around other parts of the country?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: That is absolutely false when we take in to account what the Government's doing here. It is called a regional fuel tax. It is only applicable to Auckland. If the member has questions around why a fuel company might use it as an excuse to hike prices in another region that's a question for the fuel companies.