Hayes Joanne: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers Questions to MembersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeHayes Joanne: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members[Sitting date: 11 November 2015. Volume:710;Page:7892. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]12.JOANNE HAYES (National) to the Minister for the Environment: What steps is he taking through the Resource Management Act 1991 process to support cycleways and to facilitate their design and construction as quickly and economically as possible?Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for the Environment): Today I have approved the New Zealand Transport Agency’s application for requiring authority status under the Resource Management Act for cycleways. This puts the agency on the same status for cycleways as for motorways for railways for telecommunications and for other facilities and that requiring authority enables it to gain access to and acquire the land necessary for cycleway construction around New Zealand. This decision will better enable the Government to deliver on its ambitious plans for safer and more convenient urban and rural cycleways.Joanne Hayes: What specific initiatives will be assisted by this decision and when will they take place?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: In June the Prime Minister and the Minister of Transport announced 18 urban cycleways and additional funding of $100 million. This is on top of the $50 million that was committed by the Prime Minister to the network of rural cycleways. This requiring authority status will help the delivery of all of those across the country. The new impact will come into effect on 17 December and enable the New Zealand Transport Agency to have access to these new streamlined processes.Joanne Hayes: How will the approval benefit cycleway initiatives across the country and which particular cycleways will be helped by this decision?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The requiring authority status is particularly helpful in urban areas—Andrew Little: How much is it going to cut the unemployed numbers by? Oh no you don’t care about that.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: —where it cuts across a large number of urban authorities. I hear Mr Little does not particularly support this initiative; I think New Zealanders do. They will be particularly pleased that it will enable the advancement of cycleways and the SeaPath project on the North Shore which I know my colleague Maggie Barry has strongly advocated for. It will improve safety on Tāmaki Drive and access to that cycleway and of course in the capital it will enable them to get on with the Hutt Valley to Wellington cycleway—projects that I think all members of this House support.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Can the Minister please explain to rural New Zealand why cycleways are a bigger priority for National than 31000 kilometres of unsealed roads over 3000 of them being in the electorate of Northland along with 778 single-lane bridges? [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! The Hon—[Interruption] Order! So that we can hear the answer.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I would be happy for my colleague the Minister of Transport to provide a long list of rural projects in constituencies like mine on the West Coast in Marlborough in Bay of Plenty and in Northland that are being constructed. But I would also say to the member that there is very strong support in rural and provincial New Zealand for the Prime Minister’s national network of cycleways.