5. Question No. 5—TransportSIMON COURT (ACT) to the Minister of TransportQuestion No. 5—Transport5. SIMON COURT (ACT) to the Minister of Transport: How many people drive through the Mt Victoria tunnel per day and how many does he project will walk and cycle through if the Government bans cars from the tunnel as he announced this morning?Hon MICHAEL WOOD (Minister of Transport): I reject the premise in the member's questions; the question that we've banned cars from Mount Victoria. In fact the announcement that we've made on the preferred mode and route for mass rapid transit in Wellington today provides for a new Mount Victoria tunnel with four lanes; two for cars and two for public transport. This means that there is exactly the same capacity as currently provided for cars which enables approximately 50000 to 55000 vehicles per day. The difference is that we're also enabling high quality bus rapid transit to give Wellingtonians real transport choices and faster journey times.David Seymour: Point of order Mr Speaker. This was a question accepted on notice about two things: how many cars currently drive through the tunnel and how many people would walk or cycle through it if—and this is accepted on notice from a press release from the Government on the Beehive website this morning.SPEAKER: OK.David Seymour: He didn't address either leg of the question you accepted.SPEAKER: OK. I think the member does have a point. He especially has a point as to the first part of the question which is not hypothetical; it's a factual matter which one would expect to be involved in the preparation. The member might give an answer which says he doesn't have that information or that wasn't available over that time but the—Hon MICHAEL WOOD: Speaking to the point of order I said between 50000 and 55000 vehicles per day in my answer.SPEAKER: Right. I missed it as did David Seymour.Simon Court: Is the Minister aware of Treasury advice stating 80000 additional people will be living in Wellington by 2050; and if he is aware why is he planning to close off a vital route which as he pointed out serves 55000 vehicle trips per day instead of adding to it?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: Following question time I'm very happy to arrange a session to take the member through the Let's Get Wellington Moving proposals that have been announced this morning where I can reconfirm to him again that the same vehicular capacity through Mount Victoria will apply but that additional capacity will be created through mass rapid transit which will move thousands of people per day and additional capacity will be created for safe walking and cycling. More people will be able to move through Mount Victoria through more transport choices under the plans that we have announced today.Simon Court: What does the Minister have to say to the 70 percent of people who responded to Let's Get Wellington Moving surveys who wanted to see from their website two lanes for general traffic in each direction" because they believe this would futureproof the investment and support population growth and intensification; and are these people wrong Minister?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: What I would say is that the overwhelming feedback from public consultation for Let's Get Wellington Moving is that people supported our objectives of achieving mode shift which we do by providing more transport choices to people in Wellington. The feedback from the Let's Get Wellington Moving consultation was overwhelmingly positive and by and large supported option 1 which is the preferred option of the Government as announced today.Simon Court: Has the Minister done the maths which shows that by building four new lanes taking two away for public transport taking two away from closing the Mount Victoria tunnel that adds zero extra lanes for general traffic for $7.4 billion; and if so is this morning's announcement simply proof of what the independent reviewer concluded that Let's Get Wellington Moving is at risk of failing to deliver?Hon Gerry Brownlee: Complex maths! You may need tutoring.Hon Peeni Henare: Certainly not from a woodwork teacher.SPEAKER: Order! Order! Order. Mr Henare I think—Hon Peeni Henare: Sorry sir.SPEAKER: There's been one or two on your own side who haven't had brilliant maths in the last couple of weeks.Hon Chris Hipkins: You can do all that on one hand Gerry.SPEAKER: Order! Come on. Come on let's—Hon Gerry Brownlee: We'll find out.SPEAKER: I'll be imploring people to take their shoes off to count properly soon.Hon MICHAEL WOOD: Look I would make two comments in response to the member's question. The first is just to reiterate—for about the third time—that more capacity for people to travel around Wellington is created through the Let's Get Wellington Moving plan announced this morning though the provision of mass rapid transit through Mount Victoria and also through the significant changes that are created around the Basin Reserve which will also significantly improve the urban environment.But secondly and most substantially it is important to note that our Government is a Government which believes that we will not solve the transport problems of our larger cities just by pouring more and more cars into already congested roads. That will simply make the problem worse. All of the most successful productive and innovative cities around the world have high-quality rapid public transport systems. That is what we will finally deliver for Wellington after 50 years of this issue being kicked down the road.Simeon Brown: How can Wellingtonians believe that he can deliver rapid transit for Wellington when Aucklanders have been waiting almost five years for Auckland Light Rail to Mount Roskill by 2021—last year?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: I certainly think that Wellingtonians will have more confidence in this Government to deliver that than the other side of the House given that their former leader called Wellington a "dying city".Simon Court: Will the Minister ensure that the Mount Victoria tunnel pedestrian and cycling conversion is easily removable so that when ACT is part of a future Government after 2024 we can turn it back to a car driving—SPEAKER: All right. All right.David Seymour: Point of order Mr Speaker. SPEAKER: The member's allowed to take his mask off so we can hear him clearly.David Seymour: I know you like to see me. The question was: will this design allow future conversion? Now that is a matter of public interest. I accept the second leg of the question may not have been necessary but surely the Minister can answer that. People want to know.SPEAKER: The second part of the question was out of order and therefore the question was out of order.David Seymour: Well can he answer the first part?SPEAKER: No. Well he can but he mayn't."