Smith Lockwood: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
Smith Lockwood: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
[Volume:630;Page:2416] 
Dr the Hon LOCKWOOD SMITH (National—Rodney) 
: 
 Yesterday Treasury warned us of a possible recession. Treasury says the economy has stalled. We know it stalled in the second half of last year and Treasury says it does not look as if it will grow much this year. I think it is fair to say that all the barriers hurdles bureaucratic red tape and the huge tax grab of this Labour Government are finally catching up and throttling our economy. 
A classic example of one of the things that is throttling New Zealand’s economy is Transit New Zealand’s assumption of the role of the ultimate dictator of development. I could do no better than to read to this Committee what the Rodney Economic Development Trust has said. The trust is a group based north of Auckland that contains some of the serious business hitters north of Auckland including some of the major business players who have business investments around most of the North Island. The trust states: “It is not the people of Rodney who are determining our district’s future but Transit New Zealand. They now decide where people will live where people will work where we will develop our infrastructure where our children will go to school how we use our land where business will locate.” 
Transit is now dictating totally the development of the Rodney district. Yesterday I met with a constituent who has a proposal for a major investment in part of Rodney. It would require the purchase of land. He does not know whether to go ahead and buy that land because he is worried that Transit will say he cannot go ahead with that development and therefore he cannot afford to buy the land if he cannot go ahead with the development. That is the extent to which Transit now totally dictates investment north of Auckland. That example is the tip of the iceberg. At present there is $2 billion worth of investment ready to go ahead in Rodney which would create a lot of growth. Do people know how much of that growth can go ahead because of what Transit dictates? One-tenth of that investment can go ahead because of Transit’s dictating and saying no to 90 percent of it. 
The Rodney Economic Development Trust also said that only 15 percent of the knowledge economy zone in Rodney—which is the largest industrial development in Auckland—can go ahead because Transit says it will not construct off ramps because it cannot connect that development to its motorway. So the rest of that development will not be able to go ahead. 
I want this Minister the Hon Dr Michael Cullen to explain to this Parliament how New Zealand’s growth can go ahead when Transit is dictating and controlling so much development. Even in Helensville—in my good colleague John Key’s electorate—Transit has said a birthing unit cannot expand because it will not be allowed to have extra vehicles come on to Transit’s highway. That is how dopey this situation is becoming. 
The economy and growth are being throttled. The Rodney Economic Development Trust has said Transit’s control has now cost Rodney 6251 jobs. In just one area 6251 jobs have been lost and $129 million worth of export earnings are gone because of Transit’s dictatorship and Transit’s saying no to all developments. The President of the Labour Party Mike Williams is on the Transit board and that is the extent to which cronyism and the Labour Party are now crippling and throttling our economy. It is not just the high taxes or the high interest rates that people are labouring under with this Government; it is also the direct control over and the throttling of investment by Transit New Zealand. 
Do members know what Transit has said to the people of Warkworth? It has said that 50 years ago it built a bypass there and because those stupid people have dared to build houses on the other side of that bypass it will not build them another one. Imagine if Telecom had that attitude. I invite members to think back to the telephones of 50 years ago. In my patch we had party lines. One picked up the telephone receiver and said: “Working?” and if no one said: “Yes I am working.” one would ring the handle. If Telecom had said it would not put in any more infrastructure compared with what it had 50 years ago we would still be on party lines and Telecom would be saying we could not have any more people live invest and work in an area because it would not put in any more infrastructure. That is what Transit is saying. Michael Cullen cannot hide behind Transit because at the end of the day this Labour Government funds Transit so it cannot complain about loss of growth opportunity when Transit is crippling this economy.