12. Question No. 12—TransportSIMEON BROWN (National—Pakuranga) to the Minister of TransportQuestion No. 12—Transport12. SIMEON BROWN (National—Pakuranga) to the Minister of Transport: Does he still expect early works to commence in 2023" on Auckland light rail; if so on what date in 2023 will early works commence?Hon MICHAEL WOOD (Minister of Transport): Yes; tomorrow.Hon Members: Ha ha!SPEAKER: Order! Supplementaries are heard in silence.Simeon Brown: On what date will the first metre of light rail track be completed?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: What we'll be doing this year is moving into the commencement of early works followed later this year by the confirmation of station locations and moving forward with the consenting process. We expect main works on the Auckland light rail project to begin in approximately 2025.Simeon Brown: Does the Minister think that spending $30 billion on the light rail project in Auckland is a better use of money than fixing the broken roads and bridges in the Hawke's Bay which have been destroyed by Cyclone Gabrielle?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: The member is in the first instance wrong in the figures that he uses in his question. Secondly if the member believes that any Minister of Transport or Government should only proceed with one project or priority in the transport portfolio at a time then that would explain the mess that this Government inherited from an under-investment in transport in the nine years that that lot were in control of the portfolio. For the record our Government this week has invested $250 million to support the people of cyclone-ravaged regions by providing that commitment to rebuilding their devastated roading network. For the record it is this Government which has increased investment in the maintenance of our State highway network by 50 percent after the National Party froze it for eight years. For the record it is this Government which is investing $8.7 billion through the New Zealand Upgrade Programme to deliver critical projects across regional New Zealand. And for the record it is this Government which has invested $8 billion to rebuild a broken rail network that that party neglected for its nine years in Government. We are the party that invests in transport infrastructure now but also for the future.Simeon Brown: Is it true that Auckland light rail only survived the Government's policy review as a concession to him pulling out of the Labour Party leadership race?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: No. Auckland light rail is an important project because this is a Government that actually believes in and invests in Auckland and is aware of the growth that it will experience over the next 30 years. It is an important project because it is part of an integrated plan to finally deliver the people of Auckland a linked up public transport of the kind that they have not had for decades and decades. That's why we are not only investing in Auckland light rail but why in the coming months we'll be opening the next stages of the northern corridor on the North Shore. It's why we've built the first stage of the Eastern Busway into Pakuranga and will shortly be putting shovels in the ground for the second stage through to the Botany electorate. It's why we're under way with the electrification of rail to Pukekohe. It's why we are protecting the corridor for mass rapid transit between the airport and Botany and it's why by the middle of this year we'll have a plan to take forward the alternative Waitematā Harbour crossing. On this side of the House we believe in Auckland and we'll actually make the investments that we need for our Queen City."