Catchpole Brent: Land Transport Management Bill — Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee 
Catchpole Brent: Land Transport Management Bill — Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee 
[Volume:613;Page:9693] 
BRENT CATCHPOLE (NZ First) 
: 
 This afternoon we heard the Prime Minister state that this Government could not fix the roading problems in Auckland—it could not put it right. [ 
Interruption 
] She clearly stated in question time in answer to a question from this side of the House that the Government could not put it right. The planning for the motorway system in Auckland has been in place since 1963—40 years ago. Successive Governments have failed to provide the funding and in this case it would be for Transfund to fund this roading network. Instead Governments have failed to put the planning in place for that funding. The network and the corridors are in place—they have been there for 40 years—but the funding has been done piecemeal. The Government has swapped it from one project to another and it has continued to do that and it has just done it again around Auckland because it wanted to shuffle the figures and it tried to bring in tolling. Tolling will not work. The Government has continued to tax the motorist but it has failed to put that money towards roading. All tolling will do will mean that the Government will put less of the petrol tax towards roading and will continue to siphon it off and put it elsewhere. Therefore Transfund will never have sufficient funds to fund the Auckland network. When will this Government put the 4.7c of tax that it put on in February last year into roading? It put the tax on motorists throughout the whole country to pay for the roads in Auckland. That money has never gone towards the roads in Auckland. The taxes were siphoned off elsewhere yet it was stated that it was definitely to be for the solving of Auckland’s roading problems. 
Hon Rick Barker 
: Has the member been to Auckland? 
BRENT CATCHPOLE 
: I wonder whether the Minister has been to Auckland. I live in Auckland and I have to travel through Auckland on a regular basis. 
Hon Rick Barker 
: There are roads under construction and bridges being built there. Auckland has never seen so much activity. 
BRENT CATCHPOLE 
: The Minister is bleating saying that there are bridges being put in here and everywhere. I ask the Minister why the Albany to Puhoi realignment (ALPURT) in North Auckland has not gone ahead. It has now gone back to the consultation process because this Government wants to toll it. So once again the funding that was already set aside for this piece of road has been transferred elsewhere. The Government has shown that it is not to be trusted with the taxes that it collects from petrol taxes. The Government wants to siphon it off and transfer it elsewhere and it does so. It transferred the funding from the ALPURT project because now this bill has brought in that that particular road can be tolled. All tolling will do is slow it down and put it back. When the courts were asked whether they would extend the resource consent at Orewa for this particular project they said that yes they would extend it but for only 10 months—not the 7 years that was requested to extend this motorway. They limited it to 10 months because they know that this Government cannot be trusted to put this funding towards the roading in Auckland which it had promised in the long term. It was promised to Auckland as a means of funding Auckland’s roads as an election sop. What happened? The moment the election came around the Government shifted it away from Transfund to elsewhere. This Government cannot be trusted to fund the Auckland network. It is estimated that it will take $10 billion to get Auckland back on the road. This Government has proved that it is not willing to do that.