Key John: Land Transport Management Bill — In Committee 
Key John: Land Transport Management Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:613;Page:9747] 
JOHN KEY (National—Helensville) 
: 
 I spoke earlier about the structure of the Transit and Transfund boards and about the structure of roading in New Zealand. I believe that has been one of the great significant contributing factors as to why roading in New Zealand has failed to deliver the kinds of results we need. One of the great challenges for the Transit board when it looks at the plan coming forward is just how much money it will require. The honourable member from New Zealand First Mr Peter Brown has advocated in the Chamber over the last few days the desire for regional petrol taxes. 
Peter Brown 
: No not the desire; the second option. 
JOHN KEY 
: The second option of a regional petrol tax. I want to outline for the member what I believe is the potential cost facing Auckland. The member may be aware that at the moment about $150 million per year is spent on new roading in Auckland up from about $85 million last year as a result of the 4.7c petrol tax that was put in place across the country by the Government. Now $150 million sounds like quite a lot of money and one would think that it would go quite a long way but I will refer to the kinds of things that the Transit board will be forced to look at. The eastern corridor is now estimated to cost $2.9 billion. 
I came back to Auckland 2 years ago when John Banks campaigned on roads—John Banks that wonderful mayor in Auckland who was a fantastic National Party Minister and a great member of caucus for 18 years and who I have absolutely no doubt will bolt in during the election campaign of 2004 because he will campaign on “give me some roads”. He has been around to the Prime Minister’s house for lunch and has schmoozed up to her. I saw him give her a kiss on the Television One news the other night—at Vogel House or wherever it was—and if he does not get a few billion dollars for a kiss then I do not know what he will get. Anyway he is going to be out there campaigning and saying: “Give me some roads. Give me an eastern corridor.” Well $450 million was the first figure he gave me. He came back a few months later and said: “Look John the figure is going to be somewhere in the order of a billion dollars.” Quite funny as it may be I was filling up my car with petrol just the other day just before the announcement and John Banks came over to me—it was a Sunday afternoon; a glorious day in Auckland—and said to me— 
Jill Pettis 
: A glorious day to be out in the BMW. 
JOHN KEY 
: No it was a Commodore. He said: “It’s going to cost a bit more for the eastern corridor.” I asked him why he did not just tell me the figure. He said: “I can’t tell you; it’s a national secret. We’re going to announce it on Tuesday but don’t worry it’s just a bit more.” Just a bit more! It went from $1 billion to $3 billion. If that does not worry John Banks then I do not know what does. No wonder he is kissing Helen Clark. He will be hugging her. He must be sending her letters: “Give me the money. Show me the money.” It will be like  
Jerry Maguire 
—“Show me the money.” 
It will take $2.9 billion for the eastern corridor and it does not stop there. A billion dollars will be spent on State highway 20. Members may ask what electorate that goes through. Well it is Mount Albert the Prime Minister’s electorate. It could be fixed with about $175 million worth of roading but the Prime Minister would like some tunnels so that the roads do not actually go through the backyards of her constituents; she wants them to go underneath. I guess we have to excuse that as a sort of prime ministerial whim but it will cost another $850 million. Then there is the alternative harbour crossing which lo and behold is going to take 16 years to build and will cost $3 billion. I reckon it will be about $5 billion by the time that thing gets built—if it ever gets built. 
Then there is the Albany to Puhoi realignment B2 (ALPURT B2) and the promise that it would be fixed. There was a promise that it would be looked at. What happened to ALPURT B2? Let us remember that it involves the Orewa to Puhoi motorway which currently stops in the middle of absolutely nowhere. So what happened to ALPURT B2? [ 
Interruption 
] That is right. A person who is represented by Jeanette Fitzsimons went and got legal aid spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of legal aid tying up the Rodney District Council and the Environment Court literally for years and by the time we won the case—as the Crown always would have or the Rodney District Council always would have—lo and behold it was nowhere to be seen on Transit’s plan. So that was hundreds of millions of dollars. 
State Highway 18 is one I would specifically refer the Minister to. I hope he is listening because his brother lives right off that street and it actually happens to be in my electorate. 
Hon Paul Swain 
: Oh yes. 
JOHN KEY 
: So if he could help that would probably be about another $500 million to $600 million. I could go on and on but I do not like to because this is a very important topic. The cost of trains will be $1.5 billion. Then there are the busways. The numbers are extraordinarily high.