7. Transport Infrastructure Auckland—Waterview ConnectionSIMON O'CONNOR (National—Tāmaki) to the Minister for InfrastructureTransport Infrastructure Auckland—Waterview Connection7. SIMON O'CONNOR (National—Tāmaki) to the Minister for Infrastructure: How will the new $1.4 billion Waterview tunnel improve Auckland's transport network?Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister for Infrastructure): Very good question. The Waterview Connection will create a more resilient and reliable motorway network in Auckland and is the final major link in the Auckland western ring route. It will help people and goods move around the Auckland isthmus particularly between the west and the south including Auckland Airport. The project is forecast to generate over $4 billion worth of transport and agglomeration benefits over 40 years along with additional local job generation improved productivity and increased accessibility for businesses. It is great to see the project completed and soon to be open for vehicles. I want to thank everybody involved in the tunnel's construction for doing such a fantastic job.Simon O'Connor: How has the Waterview project evolved over the years?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: It has evolved quite a bit and in fact in some very positive directions. The first plan for completing the Waterview Connection was proposed to cost an estimated $2.77 billion which was an amazingly large sum of money made up of just under $2 billion for construction of tunnels and $550 million for finance costs plus extra work on State Highway 16. The then Government decided the National Land Transport Fund could not pay for it and it would borrow it separately. This plan incidentally would have produced tunnels that were only two lanes in each direction and the tunnels would have been a kilometre longer. This Government when it came into office shaved hundreds of millions of cost off the—Fletcher Tabuteau: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker.Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! I apologise to the Minister.Fletcher Tabuteau: Was this answer on notice? Under Standing Order 386(2) his answers are supposed to be concise and to the point and we getting an anthology of some kind.Mr SPEAKER: Order! I think the member has got a reasonable point. This is a very long answer and I am not going to allow it to continue but I—[Interruption] Order! But I do remind Mr Tabuteau that I am the sole judge as to when an answer has gone on though I appreciate his assistance on occasions.Hon STEVEN JOYCE: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! This is—[Interruption] Order! This is a point of order; it will be heard in silence.Hon STEVEN JOYCE: I just wanted to make the point: this is about a saving of around $900 million—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! That is not a point of order; that is an attempt to complete an answer that was too long.Jami-Lee Ross: What further reports has the Minister received of historic costings around the Waterview tunnel?Mr SPEAKER: I will hope for a clear and concise answer.Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Well the previous costing set up by the previous Government was $2.77 billion. This project was completed by this Government for $1.4 billion and it is two three-lane tunnels not two two-lane tunnels. That is what happens when you focus on delivering better results for taxpayers' money.