Brown Peter: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
Brown Peter: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
[Volume:620;Page:15586] 
9.  
PETER BROWN (Deputy Leader—NZ First) 
 to the  
Minister of Transport 
: Does he agree with Transit New Zealand chairman David Stubbs’ reported comments that “with the nationwide gap in funding for new roads Transit’s approach tended to be that if a project can be tolled then toll it.”; if not why not? 
Hon PETE HODGSON (Minister of Transport) 
: 
 No. I am required in law to assess whether any proposal for road tolling has community support and meets the Government’s transport objectives. It is those criteria rather than funding against which I must make each decision. 
Peter Brown 
: Do I take it from the Minister’s comment that if there is no public support for tolling the second bridge in Tauranga the second bridge will go ahead funded by Transfund? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: No the member cannot take that conclusion from that statement. 
Lynne Pillay 
: What comments has the Minister read on whether tolling should be used on New Zealand roads? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: I have seen two reports. One states: “Tolls can support borrowing to provide additional funds for roads.” and the second states: “I am not looking to raise additional money from the tolls.” The source of those contradictory positions is the leader of the National Party Dr Don Brash. 
Hon Maurice Williamson 
: Given that one of the most-vaunted aspects of the Land Transport Management Act was that it would bring the private sector into New Zealand roading—we are one of the few countries that still does not have private sector roading—and that tolling would be introduced by the private sector can he tell the House how many private sector projects we now have and when he expects any more to come on stream? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: The roads are of course built by the private sector now; it is just that they are built under contract and paid for with taxpayer funding. Should the private sector wish to stump up with its own money and go through a community support programme to see whether a road can be tolled then we might get our first one away. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: Does he have in mind any funding to improve the efficiency with which existing roads are used—for example providing vehicles that would transport 40 people rather than one—and is he convinced that Transit has fully accepted the new priorities under the new Act? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: The member asks a very good question and the best answer comes from an examination of likely expenditure trends from Transfund over the next 10 years. If one takes a careful look at for example road passenger transport it is very clear that Transfund will put in place the Government’s policy of a sustainable transport system. 
Larry Baldock 
: Would the Minister have any advice about how counterproductive and detrimental to the interests of Tauranga it would be for some individuals to stir up opposition to tolling for personal political interest in the light of his statement reported in the  
New Zealand Herald 
 yesterday: “Even if the Tauranga harbour bridge were declared a state highway that did not mean the $190 million harbour link project would be built as a non-toll road Mr Hodgson warned. ‘You would still have this thing that looks like a tolling project barks like a tolling project and probably is a tolling project.’ ”? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: The conclusion of that quote is that I asked whether there was community support for it and that does remain the question. The point that is often made in this House is that somehow the Government can borrow to fund that particular scheme without having any way of servicing the loan. Frankly that is a resurgence of social credit. 
Peter Brown 
: Will the Minister tell us precisely whether if the Tauranga community says a firm “No” to tolling the bridge project will have to wait or will it be funded by some alternative method? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: At the moment the bridge is on nobody’s plan so I guess that it will not happen soon unless it is able to be tolled or part-funded. However the decision on whether it should be tolled is mine and that in turn depends on a high level of community support or on the bridge being put into a regional land transport strategy. 
Peter Brown 
: Does the Minister acknowledge that the harbour bridge in Tauranga services the foremost export port in this country that the current bridge has been paid for umpteen times by Tauranga residents and that it would be immoral and unethical to impose a toll on the second bridge? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: In respect of the importance of the Port of Tauranga to the Bay of Plenty and to New Zealand and indeed in respect of the very significant growth being faced by the Western Bay of Plenty I strongly agree with the first part of the member’s comments.