Estimates Debate — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeEstimates Debate — In Committee[Sitting date: 21 July 2015. Volume:707;Page:5155. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]JONATHAN YOUNG (Chairperson of the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee):I am very pleased to stand to take this first call on the Appropriation (2015/16 Estimates) Bill. Looking at this sector the economic development and infrastructure sector it is very important for us to understand and appreciate that life development growth and economic opportunity in New Zealand rely upon many systems. Just as a human body exists through diverse systems so does our economic vitality.I want to talk about the transportation system in our country which enables economic development growth and prosperity within our communities. Transport is a critical component of daily life for all New Zealand businesses and individuals. It connects businesses to their markets and connects individuals to their jobs and to educational social and leisure activities.New Zealand has a vibrant transport sector that comprises around 5 percent of total employment and 5 percent of gross domestic product. In total the Government has $60 billion worth of transport assets including 11000 kilometres of State highways 83000 kilometres of local roads and over 4000 kilometres of rail track and New Zealand has 14 exporting ports and six international airports. If we are going to be a country that engages in the global economy all of these vital transport links are important to us.The National-led Government is working hard for all New Zealanders. We have a clear plan for this term and we are continuing to build a stronger economy that creates more jobs lifts incomes and provides the essential services and support that families need. The Business Growth Agenda which the Minister for Economic Development the Hon Steven Joyce leads includes a specific goal to raise exports to 40 percent of GDP by the mid-2020s. More generally the Business Growth Agenda is about the Government’s focus on economic growth as a key mechanism to create better opportunities for all New Zealanders but the transport system has an important supporting role in ensuring that the additional exports the associated input goods are able to move efficiently and effectively around the country and internationally to our global markets.The transport system supports economic growth by providing the domestic transport networks and international connectivity necessary for the movement of goods. To do this well the transport system needs to be efficient and effective the existing transport assets need to be well utilised and new investment needs to deliver real results for New Zealand. Otherwise the transport system is imposing additional costs on the economy and reducing the international competitiveness of our firms.Over the past 3 years National has spent nearly $11 billion on improving our transport infrastructure and we have earmarked nearly another $40 billion over the next decade. The appropriation sought in 2015-16 for Vote Transport increased by 10.3 percent to $4.27 billion from an estimated actual spending in 2014-15 of $3.87 billion. Most of the vote—some 91 percent—provides funding for roading with 6 percent for rail 3 percent for the Ministry of Transport transport Crown entities MetService and SuperGold card transport concessions.The elephant in the room is always Auckland. At the estimates hearing the Minister said to us that in Auckland central government subsidises each bus fare by $2 to $3 and each rail fare by $7 to $8. The Government has spent $1.6 billion on rail infrastructure improvements in Auckland with $500 million of that in the form of a loan.Roads of national significance are like the backbone of our transport infrastructure. Believe it or not we in Taranaki are not jealous about Auckland’s new roads. We have got a fantastic new bridge and new infrastructure being put in place north of our city. Why? Because we accept that funding motorway expansions in the Waikato and Auckland is helping businesses in Taranaki because those northern roads are as much a part of the journey to market as the road out of New Plymouth is. We depend on those northern roads for access. And arguably as all the regional State highways feed into our big export ports the roads where this freight load converges are indeed roads of national significance. Every hour less that a truck and driver sits in a gridlocked Auckland motorway—