11. Question No. 11—TransportTANGI UTIKERE (Labour—Palmerston North) to the Minister of TransportQuestion No. 11—Transport11. TANGI UTIKERE (Labour—Palmerston North) to the Minister of Transport: Does he stand by all his statements and actions?Hon SIMEON BROWN (Minister of Transport): Yes particularly when I said that this Government will not tax Aucklanders an additional 11.5c per litre on fuel to fund more cycle lanes red light cameras speed humps and lowering speed limits across the city.Tangi Utikere: Why does he still stand by that Government decision to axe the regional fuel tax; a decision that has required Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown to stop work on multiple projects that are funded by that tax?Hon SIMEON BROWN: Well that's a very excellent question and it's because on this side of the House we're not going to tax Aucklanders an extra 11.5c per litre to fund wasteful projects like $500000 speed bumps lowering speed limits across the city red light cameras and cycle lanes. We're actually going to make sure we get the infrastructure delivered that New Zealanders and Aucklanders need.Hon Julie Anne Genter: Point of order. The Minister referenced a $500000 speed bump and I would invite the Minister to table any evidence of any speed bump anywhere in the country costing anywhere near $500000.Hon SIMEON BROWN: Speaking to the point of order. I may have misspoken; it was a $490000 speed bump which had $172000 of traffic management to construct. I'm happy to table the New Zealand Herald article. [Interruption]SPEAKER: OK. We'll all calm down and listen to the question from Tangi Utikere.Tangi Utikere: Thank you Mr Speaker. Who was correct: Simeon Brown when he said The reality is projects can still be funded by Auckland Council and Auckland Transport; they just won't be receiving a regional fuel tax in order to fund" or Wayne Brown when he said "The government's announcement therefore creates significant funding uncertainty for a large portion of Auckland Transport's capital programme"?Hon SIMEON BROWN: Well this Government will be ensuring that the remaining regional fuel tax revenues—over $300 million which is two years' worth of collection of Aucklanders—will go into delivering the priority projects such as the Eastern Busway City Rail Link electric trains and local roading projects. But what we won't be spending money on and won't be taxing Aucklanders more for is wasteful projects which aren't priorities of this Government.Tangi Utikere: How is threatening to legislate any time a mayor makes a decision that the Minister disagrees with in line with allowing councils to make their own decisions in the best interests of their ratepayers?Hon SIMEON BROWN: Well I completely reject the premise around threatening. We've sat down and we've discussed the priority projects. The legislation we are putting to this Parliament will ensure that the remaining revenues—over two years' worth of tax revenue taken from Auckland motorists—go towards those priority projects.Tangi Utikere: What does he say to National MP Simeon Brown who said that the Eastern Busway was the first thing he thinks of in the morning the last thing at night and is in his thoughts probably 100 times a day in between or to National MP Erica Stanford who led a petition to secure funding for the Glenvar Road - East Coast Road realignment project now that the full completion of those projects have been sent to the scrap heap?Hon SIMEON BROWN: Well what I'd say to those members is that those projects will be prioritised for the remaining funds—that the revenues which have not been spent but have been collected from Auckland taxpayers will be prioritised to those projects. But I'd also say to the member Simeon Brown that I wish the Eastern Busway a happy Valentine's Day.Helen White: How can the Minister justify creating a $1.2 billion shortfall in the plan to decongest Auckland over the next four years when congestion will cost us about $5 billion in productivity in the same period?Hon SIMEON BROWN: Well as I said to the House yesterday it was the last Government which caused the congestion in Auckland—$228 million on consultancy reports for light rail and didn't even deliver a business case. The six wasted years in Auckland failing to deliver the infrastructure that we needed.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Could I ask the Minister as to the so-called $1.2 billion shortfall how does it compare with the $29 billion that was going to be assigned to light rail in Auckland?Hon SIMEON BROWN: Well that last Government spent hundreds of millions on consultancy reports and business cases but failed to actually deliver and had no plan to deliver their phantom ghost train down Dominion Road.SPEAKER: Yeah. That's enough.Hon Kieran McAnulty: Point of order.SPEAKER: Yeah I know what your point of order is. The question was though for a comparison and you've got it.Hon Kieran McAnulty: Point of order Mr Speaker. The fact here is that you have made a ruling a clarification to the House at the start of question time today. And pulling up members at the end of their answer when your ruling was talking about the start of their answer I don't think is following what you told us at the start.SPEAKER: Well thank you. I'll try and follow my own advice from here on."