5. Transport Infrastructure—Funding FiguresJAMI-LEE ROSS (National—Botany) to the Minister of TransportTransport Infrastructure—Funding Figures5. JAMI-LEE ROSS (National—Botany) to the Minister of Transport: How much is funding increasing by in dollar terms for the Local Road Maintenance activity class for the first three years of the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport; and when added to his answers yesterday for Local Road Improvements and Regional Improvements funding increases of $310 million and $260 million respectively what is the total combined increase in dollar terms for these three activity classes?Hon PHIL TWYFORD (Minister of Transport): Thank you Mr Speaker. Taking the average of the first three years of the last Government's Government policy statement on land transport issued in 2015 and the average of the first three years of the draft Government policy statement issued last week local road improvements increased by $310 million and regional improvements funding increases by $260 million. The total for the three activity classes the member mentions is $890 million. I should note for the member that the $1.2 billion he cited yesterday includes the nearly 20 percent increase in State highway maintenance.Jami-Lee Ross: Was the Prime Minister correct when she said in question time on Tuesday that over the three-year period regional and local road improvements [increased by] $1.2 billion" which yesterday he confirmed included three activity classes—those being local road maintenance local road improvements and regional improvements—which he says today adds up to $890 million?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: The reason the Prime Minister made that statement was to point out that despite Opposition scaremongering there are increases in other categories of road funding in the first three years that outweigh the reduction in State highway improvements in the first three years.Jami-Lee Ross: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I asked if the Prime Minister was correct—SPEAKER: And I couldn't hear all of the answer whether it was correct or not because Paula Bennett was interjecting. So I'm not going to make him do it again.Jami-Lee Ross: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. You couldn't hear the answer. I couldn't hear the answer. If I'm asking—SPEAKER: Well if you can't hear the answer because your colleague is interjecting I'm not going to protect you.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I can be helpful. The member said that the Prime Minister made a $300 million mistake.SPEAKER: I'm going to give the member one opportunity to withdraw that comment and apologise for its inaccuracy or I will punish the Opposition.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I withdraw and apologise.SPEAKER: And I do want to warn members if they make statements like that on points of order in the future there is a very real chance that they'll face the Privileges Committee because the member knew it was not true when he made it.Jami-Lee Ross: Why did he tell the House yesterday that the Prime Minister's figure of $1.2 billion was made up of the three categories asked in my primary question and then today he tells the House that the Prime Minister's $1.2 billion includes an additional category he didn't tell us about yesterday? Why the inconsistency?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: The statement I made to the House wasn't exclusive of the fact that it includes State highway maintenance. I said that it includes local roads local road maintenance and regional roads. But I would point out to the member—[Interruption] Actually I'll leave it.Jami-Lee Ross: Why does he keep changing the way in which he justifies the Prime Minister's $1.2 billion figure which I've proven is inaccurate to cover up what is a mistake that his Prime Minister has made?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: I reject the premise of the member's question.Jami-Lee Ross: Why do we keep getting inconsistent answers from this Government on matters of transport where the Prime Minister says one figure he justifies it one way yesterday justifies it a different way today—the same inconsistency we saw when it came to the building of the Ōtaki Expressway?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: I suggest that the member focuses on asking clear intelligible questions that can be validly answered unlike the last two questions he's asked in the last two days.Jami-Lee Ross: Is $890 million the same as $1.2 billion or is there a $310 million gap between him and his Prime Minister?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: When you add State highway maintenance to local roads improvements local road maintenance and regional road improvements you get $1.2 billion. For the member's benefit State highways like local roads are often in the regions. The Prime Minister's comments refer to the total increase in funding available to be spent in the regions not the total increase of the narrow activity classes that the member is pretending."