McCallum GrantGRANT McCALLUM (National—Northland): At one minute past midnight tonight State Highway 1 over the Brynderwyns reopens for Easter. I want to thank the hard-working contractors who have worked tirelessly since 26 February and made great progress towards their ultimate goal of securing this route for the next 7-10 years. Yes that's 7-10 years. That's all the life left in this road. The rest of the work will be completed after Easter—here's hoping the weather continues to play ball. Opening for the long weekend is great news for the incredibly patient and understanding people of Northland. In particular the tourism and freight sectors who've had to deal with the challenges of the closures over the last month. I would strongly encourage the people of New Zealand to come and visit Northland over Easter. We have some of the greatest beaches and scenery in the country and some of the best hospitality. There is nothing better than enjoying a relaxing beverage and some quality seafood while overlooking the Bay of Islands or the Hokianga harbour.Hon Scott Simpson: Or maybe the Coromandel.GRANT McCALLUM: Now now. What the opening of the Brynderwyns highlights is that while the Northland electorate is miles above the rest its roads are not. Talk to any Northlander who in recent years has added huge amounts of time in their travels dodging potholes and replacing tyres and they will tell you they've had enough. In the last 12 months I've driven more than 50000 kilometres around the roads of Northland so you might say I speak with a bit of knowledge and experience. Some people ask me why I drive a ute. Well despite the previous Government's unfair ute tax which is now gone—isn't that great news for the tradies and farmers of this country?—it is one of the only vehicles that can survive on our roads. This is not just a Northland problem however. The entire country has battled with low quality roading and the resulting potholes and vehicle damage. To tackle this issue head on the coalition Government has committed $500 million to fixing those damn potholes. The actions of the last Government would indicate they either didn't realise or didn't care about Northland's roading woes. So what actions were those? In 2017 they cancelled the Roads of National Significance which included the four-lane highway to Northland. A devastating blow for the people of Northland and for a region which has struggled economically for generations. The way to unlock the undoubted potential of Northland is to commit to and build this crucial piece of infrastructure. A recent NZIER report indicated that the economic benefits of just building the Dome Valley extension to Te Hana was approximately $500 million per year. If the previous Government had continued to build this road as planned it would be close to finished and we would be about to reap the huge gains that follow. How indicative is that on the short sightedness of the previous Governments.Hon Julie Anne Genter: They only just opened Pūhoi to Warkworth—they announced it in 2008.GRANT McCALLUM: Typical—they were either too ignorant to understand the potential benefits or didn't care about Northland or both. Listen to them. They don't understand what it's like to live in regional New Zealand; they just live in little electorates in town. But this Government does understand and does care as shown by our Government Policy Statement on land transport right which commits to the Roads of National Significance. And thanks to our coalition agreement a new route around the Brynderwyns is top of the list. Great news—great news. So whether you own a small business in Northland you work the land or run the port this new modern intergenerational piece of infrastructure means transport security and it's a crucial step towards unlocking the potential for you and for Northland.As I said in my maiden speech the future is clear. The four-lane highway to Northland is what we need. I challenge those across the floor to open their eyes and their hearts to the people of Northland. If you want to create jobs lift people out of poverty and fix the housing challenges facing our wonderful electorate we need to build the road. So I'll say that again people: build the road. Thank you.