3. Question No. 3—Prime MinisterHon SIMON BRIDGES (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime MinisterQuestion No. 3—Prime Minister3. Hon SIMON BRIDGES (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government's statements policies and actions?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister): Yes.Hon Simon Bridges: Does she agree with the Automobile Association Auckland congestion report that Action is urgently needed beyond what's planned in the current project." and there are "serious question marks around whether the Auckland Transport programme can deliver predicted decongestion outcomes."?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Look we absolutely acknowledge that we have a congestion issue in Auckland that is due to a significant level of under-investment. It took five years for instance for the last Government to decide that the City Rail Link was a necessary piece of infrastructure which will take tens of thousands of Aucklanders off the road and would represent the equivalent of quite a significant piece of motorway investment. We are having to play catch-up.Hon Simon Bridges: How can she say that when in the last small number of weeks Phil Twyford himself has said that the former National Government "significantly over-invested" in roading around Auckland?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I was obviously talking about our transport infrastructure—including public transport which obviously the member didn't invest in.Hon Simon Bridges: Why has the Government cancelled investment in Auckland projects such as the East-West Link Mill Road and Warkworth to Wellsford?Hon Phil Twyford: We haven't.Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: As the Minister of Transport is indicating that's not an entirely accurate statement. But also we have of course applied a decent cost-benefit analysis for some of those projects as well—something that we long encouraged the last Government to do. If we're going to be talking though about transport I would be very encouraged to hear whether or not any of the member's plans around transport investment also factor in our obligations under the Paris Agreement that he signed us up to because he seems quite fixated on roads rather than public transport or for instance fuel-efficient vehicles which I'd be happy to debate with him.Hon Simon Bridges: Will she then be explicit and make clear to this House that the Government's unstated policy is that roads are bad for climate change?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: No.Hon Simon Bridges: What transport projects has her Government started to replace the many roading projects that they cancelled of National's?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I think you use the word "cancelled" loosely; they were ghost roads and they were not funded.Hon Simon Bridges: What transport projects has her Government started?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Of course we are well under way with the planning around rail to the airport which is something that member never did.Hon Simon Bridges: When will construction start on that project?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: If the member wants specific details for our projects he may as well ask the Minister of Transport. But again if the member is now telling me though that with his last 10 years when he was the Minister that he holds no responsibility for those currently sitting in congestion in Auckland then I find that laughable.Hon Chris Hipkins: Supplementary question.SPEAKER: The Hon Chris Hipkins.Hon Simon Bridges: Oh here we go.SPEAKER: Order!Hon Chris Hipkins: Can the Prime Minister confirm that the supposed cancelled roads that the Leader of the Opposition mentions in his question amounted to $12 billion worth of roading projects none of which were budgeted for?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Absolutely. I also have to say that I don't know how he would pay for it given that he stands opposed to excise tax as well. So not only was he promoting ghost roads he had no plans to fund them. In fact the Ministry of Transport if my recollection is clear said that he would need to introduce an 8c per litre excise tax to pay for his ghost roads.Hon Simon Bridges: In light of her talk of planning of light rail to the airport and also benefit-cost ratios given all the planning on that project what is the benefit-cost ratio of light rail to the airport?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Look if the member wants to put a question on notice I would be happy to duel over whether or not we should have light rail to the airport. But I think if you canvassed Aucklanders about whether or not there is enough investment in public transport the resounding answer would be "No." If we want an international city if we want to increase productivity we need to invest in projects like the City Rail Link which the member was very slow to come to the party on—Hon Simon Bridges: Will it go to the airport?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: —and rail to the airport.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Could the Prime Minister tell the country how many dollars were set aside by the previous Minister of Transport for the Whangarei to Warkworth—much lauded—superhighway?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I don't believe there was any.Hon Simon Bridges: Isn't the reality of that that the Transport Agency had done all the planning required effectively for a Whangarei Northport but the transport Minister cancelled that $450 million project at the start of 2018?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: A plan is very different to actually having funded the road. I note that many National Party members around the country are putting up billboards about ghost roads which never ever ever had the funding to deliver.Hon Simon Bridges: Does she agree with the Road to Zero discussion document Julie Anne Genter launched last week which states that 87 percent of New Zealand roads have speed limits presently set too high?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Actually if the member takes the time to talk to some of the local councils he'll find that there are mayors up and down the country where there are areas of road where they feel that their local populations are not being well served. We're not going to see large-scale road speed limit reductions but we are going to listen to people locally who raise issues around particular spots where people have lost their lives. Hon Julie Anne Genter: Can she confirm that identifying areas where roads need to be engineered up is just as important in identifying where speed limits are inappropriate as it is to identifying places where speeds might drop in some places and the Government has no plan to drop speed limits on wide swathes of New Zealand's network but to make it safer?SPEAKER: The Prime Minister may answer one of those five questions.Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I can confirm that and that is why of course as part of our transport investment we are looking at investing $1.4 billion over the next three years in targeted road safety upgrades. By 2021 we plan to upgrade 3300 kilometres of high-risk highway and of course that is through upgrade work rather than speed limit changes.Hon Simon Bridges: Is the sum total of the Government's work in transport to date to stop National's projects not start any new ones and slow New Zealand down?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: No."