Baldock Larry: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Baldock Larry: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:609;Page:6689] 
11.  
LARRY BALDOCK (United Future) 
 to the  
Minister of Transport 
: Can he confirm that the Mt Roskill extension the Esmond Road interchange the North Shore busway the Hewletts Road / Maunganui Road overpass and the Wellington inner-city bypass highway projects are all now subject to review because of an agreement between the Government and the Green Party? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN (Minister of Transport) 
: 
 Yes and it was also foreshadowed by the Government in the Speech from the Throne last year. The Transit authority and the Transfund board will be making final decision on the outcome of the review by December. 
Larry Baldock 
: Is the Minister saying by his previous answer to question No. 1 to the leader of the New Zealand First Party that when the Government made that deal with the Greens in the previous Parliament it had no choice but to accept the Greens’ demands; if so does he think the country should be rejoicing now that the Greens can no longer hold us all to ransom because the Government has a more reasonable choice with United Future to help solve the country’s problems? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: It would be highly inappropriate to comment on the second part of the question. I can say that as part of coalition agreements and discussions with parties under an MMP Parliament the Greens provided support for the petrol price increase; and that provided the Government with the ability to fund a number of the projects that were announced yesterday. 
Lynne Pillay 
: When will the review of major projects be completed? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: The review will get under way immediately. It will be completed by December 2003. This tight time frame will ensure that any delays are kept to an absolute minimum and that final decisions can be made as soon as possible. 
John Key 
: Why is the Minister letting the Greens hijack the Government’s transport strategy; and in doing so does he accept he is threatening the confidence and supply arrangement between United Future and Labour? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: Because I am not. 
Peter Brown 
: Is the Minister aware that it does neither him nor his Government any good to allow rumour to develop and persist around the projects that were outlined in the principal question by giving credence to a bunch of wacky-baccy skateboarders simply because they roll over every time he wants to increase the price of petrol? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The phrase is a little infelicitous but I will ask the Minister to comment. 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: I do not think I will comment on that particular part of the question but I will say that the Greens did provide support and it is interesting to note that the vast majority of Opposition parties want to spend more money on roads but are not prepared to provide support to the Government to be able to do that. 
Stephen Franks 
: Now that it appears that the Greens—who have no support agreement with Labour—have more clout than the Hon Peter Dunne who has bound himself to support Labour should Wellingtonians seeing the bypass project again at risk from Government policy be begging Mr Dunne to please stop championing roading efficiency here in case he proves even more successful than he has been to date in getting changes in Government policy? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: I work very constructively with United Future. Can I just say that it is not just about roading; it is about a wide range of transport projects including walking and cycling. About 3 percent of the funding goes towards walking and cycling which is about the ACT party poll result. That party will need to keep pedalling faster if it wants to get above the 5 percent threshold. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: Can the Minister confirm that the Greens and the Government have an ongoing cooperation agreement on transport and that we are working on a range of transport issues including vehicle emissions various pieces of legislation coastal shipping rail policy and the review of major projects which was announced last year? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: Yes I can confirm that. 
Larry Baldock 
: What is the Minister’s response to Wellington Mayor Kerry Prendergast’s comments when she said she feared that the review would be used to further delay the Wellington inner-city bypass project and that she hoped the Wellington City Council and other local authorities would be given a chance to set the terms of reference? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: Sometimes that mayor worries a lot unduly. This review will be robust and it will be completed by December.