5. Roading—PrioritiesHon JUDITH COLLINS (National—Papakura) to the Minister of TransportRoading—Priorities5. Hon JUDITH COLLINS (National—Papakura) to the Minister of Transport: Which specific and identifiable roading projects are a priority for the Government?Hon PHIL TWYFORD (Minister of Transport): Thank you Mr Speaker. The Government is focused on getting better value for money from our transport investment. The East-West Link is a priority project because we want to find a more cost-effective option than the past Government's $2 billion plan. Also a priority for the Government is improving rural roads and particularly accident blackspots given that we have inherited a road toll that has risen by 50 percent in the last five years.Hon Nathan Guy: Is the Ōtaki to north of Levin expressway a priority for this Government and does he support its funding from the National Land Transport Fund?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: No existing and funded roading project other than the East-West Link has been altered by the Government. But I want to make it clear that it is not the role of the Minister of Transport to prioritise particular roading projects because that would encourage pork-barrel politics. Prioritisation of particular projects is the role of the New Zealand Transport Agency.Tim van de Molen: Is the extension of the Waikato Expressway from Cambridge to Tirau a priority for this Government and does he support the funding from the National Land Transport Fund?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: No existing and funded roading project other than the East-West Link has been altered by the Government. But I want to make it very clear that it is not the role of the Minister of Transport to prioritise particular roading projects because that would—Mr SPEAKER: Order! That's now becoming repetitive.Marja Lubeck: What other questions has he received regarding transport priorities?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: I have received a written question from one Judith Collins asking if and I quote: If I agree—Hon Judith Collins: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Surely he can't actually attack on a political point like that on a question from his own member and also he should really have referred to me as the Hon Judith Collins.Mr SPEAKER: I think what we'll do is we'll start the reply again and the injunction for politeness will be enforced.Hon PHIL TWYFORD: Thank you. I have received a written question from the Hon Judith Collins asking if I agree with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's statement on 6 August 2017: "We'll also build a Bus Rapid Transit service connecting the airport and East Auckland". Unfortunately Mrs Collins seems to have forgotten that Bill English was the Prime Minister on 6 August but she's hardly alone in that.Lawrence Yule: Is the four-laning of the Napier to Hastings expressway a priority for the Government and does he support its funding from the National Land Transport Fund?Hon Chris Hipkins: Speaking of repetitive.Mr SPEAKER: And because the member hadn't started that one goes back. Thank you Mr Hipkins.Hon PHIL TWYFORD: My answer is the same as the one I gave to the question previous to the last one.Mr SPEAKER: That's all right.Hon PHIL TWYFORD: I'm worried that—[Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: No the member's finished. Thank you.Hon Judith Collins: Will his Government's roading priorities be affected by the needs of the more than 30000 Aucklanders who have now been told that they can't rely on public transport tomorrow under his Government given there's yet another train strike?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: Our Government shares the concerns—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: The Minister will now resume his seat. I think the level of interjection—Hon Dr Megan Woods: That's right.Mr SPEAKER: —from my left—Megan Woods has just given another two supplementaries to the National Party. The interjections from my left were not unreasonable—in fact one of them was pretty witty—and Mr Twyford as a front-bench Minister must learn to deal with it and to just keep answering.Hon PHIL TWYFORD: The coalition Government wants to see investment in a world-class public transport system but unlike the members opposite we don't want to achieve that by cutting the wages and conditions of the people who run the public transport system."