Smith Lockwood: Budget Debate 
Smith Lockwood: Budget Debate 
[Volume:608;Page:5971] 
Dr the Hon LOCKWOOD SMITH (NZ National—Rodney) 
: 
 One of the more insightful comments on this year’s Budget was one penned by the business editor of the  
New Zealand Herald.  
He said this: “This year’s Budget is akin to putting mag wheels and an in-car satellite navigation system into the same old Holden Barina and sending it out for speed trials on an increasingly badly potholed track.” He went on to say: “A successful economy needs a powerful engine and as with time trials faster growth can only be achieved on a good track.” He said the engine of economic growth in New Zealand was business but that it continued to be held back by excessive Government regulation and inadequate infrastructure. To Jim Eagles I say “hear hear!” That is a very apt description of this year’s Budget—lots of frills around the edges little bits of money for this and little bits of money for that while it fails totally to address the main issues holding back growth in this country. They are excessive bureaucracy excessive red tape or regulation—whatever one wants to call it—excessive compliance costs and inadequate infrastructure. 
It is fascinating to look at the Budget and see what the Government is allocating for infrastructure development in this next year. I searched through the great pile of media statements and I did find something on infrastructure. It said wait for it—$550000 for a stocktake of infrastructure in this country; not $550000 to actually to do something about our inadequate infrastructure no sir but for a stocktake. I found another bit too: another $1m over 2 years which of course is $500000 a year to investigate—not to do anything at all or build any more infrastructure—but to investigate pricing and regulatory treatment. So there we have it—in the next 12 months there will be half a million dollars for a stocktake and half a million dollars for an investigation into pricing and regulatory treatment. That is why the business editor of the  
New Zealand Herald  
said that this Government’s Budget did nothing to address the serious infrastructure issues. 
I would like anyone in the Auckland region listening to this Budget debate tonight to take note of that in particular because that is what this Government has done in this Budget to fix the massive transport and motorway problems in Auckland. There is an infrastructure crisis in Auckland and the Government allocates half a million dollars for a stocktake of infrastructure and $500000 for an investigation into pricing and regulatory treatment. 
Now on Monday night this week the National Party held a forum in Orewa in my electorate. 
Hon Damien O'Connor 
: Two people turned up. 
Dr the Hon LOCKWOOD SMITH 
: I tell the Hon Damien O’Connor that it was probably the biggest political meeting in the region for 15 years. Four hundred people were packed into that facility in Orewa; they were hanging from the rafters. What is important is not the fact that there was a huge crowd but what was revealed. Transit New Zealand had a court ruling that it had to complete the extension of the motorway system north of Auckland by 31 December this year. Until 31 December this year the Environment Court had approved the use of what is commonly called the Link Road or Westhoe Road down through Orewa where the motorway ends in the middle of nowhere. So many tens of thousands of people know all about that as they try to head north of Auckland on weekends not to mention during the week. From 31 December this year Transit no longer has consent to use the Link Road so the motorway stops up in the northern part of Orewa and goes no further. Back in 1999 when National was in Government the money was available to build that road right through to Puhoi. 
At that forum we heard that Helen Clark had meddled in the funding. I do not know whether that is true but that was what one of the speakers claimed. There were four speakers at the forum: a property developer from Orewa whose property development the Link Road runs down through and who is inevitably involved in the whole thing; the chair of the Auckland Regional Council’s transport committee Catherine Harland; Transfund’s Auckland regional manager Dave MacDonald and the national highway manager of Transit New Zealand Rick Van Barneveld. But what one of the speakers claimed is not the most important thing. It is that Transit New Zealand told that forum of 400 people that it had applied for consents to use the Link Road—and that of course means that the motorway will not be constructed north of Auckland and why I want Auckland listeners to hear this—not for 1 more year 2 3 4 5 6 or 7 more years not even 8 or 9 more years. Transit New Zealand has applied for consents to use the Link Road down through Orewa from the end of the motorway which ends in the middle of nowhere for 10 more years. The people of Auckland need to know that this Labour Government and its Transit operation say at the moment that they will not have the motorway extended north of Auckland for 10 years—not till 2010. I tell a lie—I was wrong there a moment ago. Forgive me it is till the end of 2010—7 more years. 
What Transit also applied for was an extension beyond 2010 if the motorway could not be constructed because of circumstances beyond its control. I want Auckland people to know about that because in 1999 that motorway was going to be built by the end of this year. Under this Labour Government that motorway will not be completed for 7 more years at least. Why that is so serious is that already on weekends the traffic jams go all the way back to Warkworth. It takes people hours and hours to access Auckland from the north. One-third of this country’s economy is being strangled by the lack of infrastructure and Labour in its Budget has allocated $500000 to do a stocktake. We do not need a damn stocktake; we need a Government with the balls to get up there and build that motorway. There is no other way to describe it. That lily-livered bunch opposite that gives $500000 for a stocktake should be ashamed of itself because until Monday night no one knew that Transit on behalf of this Government had applied for an extension through to the end of 2010 for the use of the Link Road down through Orewa. By then there will not even be room to put the cars on the road let alone for them to be driven anywhere. 
That is a shocking indictment on this Government. It will put $2 billion into the “Cullen Fund”—70 percent of which will be invested on the New York Stock Exchange while our people in Auckland and to the north cannot even travel between the north and Auckland without it taking several hours. It is an indictment on this Government and the people of Auckland now know about it. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Clem Simich) 
: The next speaker will take 5 minutes. The bell will ring at the 5-minute mark followed by a 5-minute bell at the end.