van de Molen TimTIM VAN DE MOLEN (National—Waikato): Thank you Madam Chair. I'd like to focus this afternoon on the annual review of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA). Now this is an area that's seen a lot of focus over the last wee while and justifiably so. We've heard already a bit about how we've seen $5 billion stripped out of the regional roading networks and rediverted to rail in Auckland. That is a big issue in particular for me in the Waikato. We were looking at another couple of pieces of extension to the Waikato Expressway project—the roads of national significance. We're very lucky to have seen work under way now from Auckland right down past Hamilton to near Cambridge and they were going to continue to the intersection of State Highway 1 and 29 where traffic diverts and splits two ways. We were then looking at additional stages. Those projects have been taken off the table.This is a major issue in our area given the high volume of traffic and the safety risk. We heard from NZTA during the annual review that under the 2018 Government policy statement they've revised and reprioritised some of their focus. The number one focus and we heard it from the Minister just earlier is on safety and yet this very project was going to significantly improve the safety in the Waikato and it's been canned. It's outrageous to see that taken off the table. They are very dangerous intersections and now they're not getting the support they need although part of that—and we heard about the additional funding into the Safe Network Programme—was going to focus on rural roads. Again there are plenty of those in the Waikato.A couple of key intersections I'd like to focus on with this and in particular the rural intersection activated warning signs: now NZTA said those signs—these are the flashing electronic signs you see as you approach intersections; they warn you if there's a car looking to come out and you have to slow down to 60—were going to be installed at the intersection of State Highways 1 and 29 and also State Highway 29 and Hopkins Road near Hobbiton. It's a very busy intersection and often plenty of tourists are going through there. We've seen all sorts of interesting turning manoeuvres in that space. This was going to help improve safety at those intersections—not a fix but one step. I wrote to NZTA about this and they confirmed that they would be installed by the end of January. I visited on 1 February and they weren't there. Just a few weeks ago I wrote to NZTA because they're still not installed and it's putting our communities at risk. I raised this during the annual review process as well and NZTA said well they didn't know about specific projects so they couldn't comment on that but absolutely they expected to be able to deliver on their time frames. They've failed miserably in this regard and in so many others as well.Another example is Morrinsville—another great town in my electorate—at the intersection of State Highway 26 and Avenue Road: inside the town limits and a dangerous busy intersection with high volumes of heavy-vehicle movements through there as well. There were going to be safety improvements done to that late last year and resealing done as well. It still hasn't happened and here we are now in May the following year more than six months after they were meant to have implemented these safety upgrades. NZTA are not taking their responsibilities seriously. They've said under the Government policy statement (GPS) that they put out which they mentioned in this annual review that safety was their number one priority and yet they're not demonstrating that. They're letting down rural communities like Matamata like Morrinsville in the Waikato—communities that rely on economic growth in the area that rely on those transport connections and yet they've been marginalised by this Government through a failure to act and to meet the promises that NZTA has made.We heard also from NZTA around a shift—that this shift of focus in the GPS would result in increased congestion and traffic delays. NZTA stated that. They believe this will change the focus and that traffic congestion and times will increase in cases—they've stated it right here—but in other areas such as the Hamilton to Auckland rail link it will reduce traffic on the roads. What they don't seem to realise is that Te Kauwhata at the north end of my electorate is a growing town that actually under the previous Government received $37 of investment for their infrastructure which this new Government has reinforced. They're looking to grow—there's KiwiBuild there apparently too—and yet there's no rail link; the train is going right through that town on its way from Hamilton to Auckland and not stopping. They stand and wave at it as it goes past.So what we're hearing is a lot of rhetoric from this Government NZTA and KiwiRail standing up and saying they're doing these wonderful things and yet their words do not align with their actions. Communities like the Waikato are being sorely let down and the Government needs to do better.