7. Earthquake Kaikōura—Transport InfrastructureSUE MORONEY (Labour) to the Minister of TransportEarthquake Kaikōura—Transport Infrastructure7. SUE MORONEY (Labour) to the Minister of Transport: What roads and public transport services are currently not operational following damage from the earthquake yesterday and when is it expected access and services will be restored?Hon SIMON BRIDGES (Minister of Transport): As has been widely reported there has been significant damage to transport infrastructure in the Kaikōura region. In addition to buckled and cracked road and rail infrastructure major landslides have closed State Highway 1 and the main trunk line at multiple locations along the coast between Seddon and Cheviot. I think in terms of the member's question that is absolutely the prime and by far the largest most significant example. Effectively what we are trying to do for the member's benefit is find alternative routes to establish and that is the focus of the New Zealand Transport Agency and KiwiRail's efforts right at the moment. Due to the sheer scale of the slips it is expected that State Highway 1 and the main trunk line between Seddon and Cheviot will remain out of action for—as I have said in answer to earlier questions—several months. Finally public transport services in and around Wellington are coming back on following checks to roads and rail lines but severe weather events effectively flooding unrelated to the earthquakes are also significantly impacting services.Sue Moroney: What steps has the Government taken to ensure that access to isolated communities is restored as soon as possible?Hon SIMON BRIDGES: Comprehensive actions I think. Effectively our top priority is access for communities and what that means is going around and systematically checking and inspecting the roads. I mentioned State Highway 7 earlier today and 7A into Hanmer and really the prime and most important example at the moment to get that access for freight and for people into Kaikōura is old State Highway 70. I am personally meeting with Transport Agency officials across all of the agencies both in the mornings and the evenings to make sure we have a concerted comprehensive set of actions to do everything we can for the people of the South Island.Sue Moroney: What are the capacity issues he referred to in question No. 3 today in relation to the increased role for coastal shipping to ensure the movement of people and freight in the wake of the recent earthquakes?Hon SIMON BRIDGES: Broadly speaking in relation to capacity I would simply say that we are coming into peak season with a significant population in Canterbury wanting goods and services connectivity. So that makes this a significant issue. In relation to coastal shipping I would not claim to have expertise in this; it is something that KiwiRail is working through. My point was simply that of the number of coastal ships in New Zealand we have to go through and check which ones are available and have capacity to do the freight tasks that clearly in New Zealand's interests we need to see.Sue Moroney: What extra resourcing will be allocated from the National Land Transport Fund to assist affected communities to rebuild their transport links?Hon SIMON BRIDGES: Under the conventional National Land Transport Fund there is a broad in approximate terms half a billion dollars that can be brought to bear to an emergency such as this—local State highway funding. I think we have also heard of course from the Minister of Finance that this is not effectively a question of funding. We are in a good place over and above that should we need to act. I would also say to the member that we have got a number of examples even in my relatively brief time as Minister of Transport where outside of the conventional classes if you like of the fund we have come to the party to help with Whanganui and the floods there last year being but one example.