Sepuloni Carmel: General Debate 
Sepuloni Carmel: General Debate 
[Volume:654;Page:3172] 
CARMEL SEPULONI (Labour) 
: 
 I will carry on shortly from what MP Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga said and talk about the tunnel—or should I say Councillor Sam Lotu-Iiga? In thinking about this issue in light of the fact that we are in the middle of a recession I say that perhaps the member could help one jobless person by giving up one of his jobs. I think that is a good idea. In talking about the money that we need for hip operations I say that perhaps we could have paid for a number of hip operations if we had not paid out tax cuts to a number of rich people earlier this year. Those tax cuts mostly went to the top 3 percent of income earners in New Zealand. Councillor and MP Sam Lotu-Iiga should say thank you for those two sets of tax cuts. 
The National Government’s actions in scuttling the proposed Waterview tunnel are the actions of a Government that is out of touch with the interests and wishes of the people it purports—as Mr Sam Lotu-Iiga was just doing—to represent. The twin tunnel proposal was decided upon after an extensive consultation process between the previous Labour Government and local residents. That is something that the National Government would not know anything about. Now the transport Minister has decided to pursue a cheaper alternative though it is one that is undoubtedly more costly to the local community. This shows a refusal to relate to and accommodate the interests of ordinary New Zealanders. Unfortunately in this instance perhaps because the consultation took place under the previous Labour Government the Minister has decided it is more important to prioritise politics over the best interests of the community. 
In order to justify the decision to dump the plans for a two-lane tunnel the transport Minister has claimed there is a budget blowout. According to the Minister under Labour’s plan the tunnel would have cost $2.7 billion. That is pure deception. That is the cost of a three-lane tunnel and other costs that come alongside that which would have to be paid for anyway. Three lanes are not necessary. Further work on cycleways and improving the public transport system would have ensured that two-lane tunnels would not create bottlenecks and that the extra lanes would not be required. The transport Minister however has reduced the funding options for public transport despite the support of Aucklanders for an improvement of the public transport system. The Minister has also inflated the figure of $2.7 billion by including extra works on State Highway 16—works that must be done regardless of which option is chosen and regardless of the financing costs. 
We just heard the member Sam Lotu-Iiga say the figure is now $3 billion—from $2.7 billion to $3 billion. The Minister has manipulated the cost of the tunnel to suit his own political agenda. The tunnel that Labour proposed would have cost $1.98 billion. That is more than the $1 billion to $1.4 billion that the Minister is willing to spend but there would have been considerably less cost to the residents of the area many of whom under the current Government’s plans will lose their homes. We have just found out that now with the new plans approximately 365 homes will be lost—one for every day of the year. Thank you National Government! 
The previous Labour Government acknowledged that Mount Albert residents were overwhelmingly in support of the tunnel option over any surface road alternatives. In respect of the Transit New Zealand consultative process 76 percent of respondents were in support of the tunnel. The transport Minister not only disregards those findings but refuses to visit the Mount Albert - Waterview area and meet community groups despite their requests. Community groups support the tunnel as does the Auckland City Council’s transport community. Who does not support the tunnel? Business lobbyists and the National Government. 
The National candidate for Mt Albert Melissa Lee has claimed that Labour had not budgeted for the Waterview Connection. Labour had in fact explored many options to fund the Waterview tunnel including a regional fuel tax which would have allowed the Auckland region to invest local funds in local infrastructure projects; public-private partnerships; and Government bonds. Steven Joyce has replaced the proposed regional fuel tax with a national fuel tax. In respect of using public-private partnerships and Government bonds to accelerate infrastructure development he has been silent. Those are viable options to fund a tunnel that would be in the best interests of the Mount Albert and Waterview communities yet the National Government instead of exploring the options will not acknowledge them. 
Steven Joyce has used the excuse of a Budget blowout to halt the Waterview tunnel project yet the tunnel which was a Labour proposal that had the clear support of the local community would have cost $1.9 billion. That figure is far from the $2.77 billion that the Minister claims or the $3 billion that Sam Lotu-Iiga claims. The figure keeps getting bigger.