6. Earthquake Kaikōura—State Highway 1 ClearanceRt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) to the Minister of TransportEarthquake Kaikōura—State Highway 1 Clearance6. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) to the Minister of Transport: Of the slips that have to be cleared to re-open State Highway 1 north and south of Kaikōura how many had machinery and workers on the job clearing them yesterday and how many didn't?Hon SIMON BRIDGES (Minister of Transport): The North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery alliance had workers and machinery on six of the 10 major slip sites still to be cleared on State Highway 1 north and south of Kaikōura yesterday. Four major slip sites did not have workers or machinery on them yesterday for various reasons such as some slips nearing completion geotechnical investigations continuing to determine the safest method to remove remaining loose or dangerous material and priority being on the most complex and time-consuming slips.Rt Hon Winston Peters: With all these slips right now having no machinery or workers clearing them why is the work schedule designed to suit the contractors and not the local quake-affected people?Hon SIMON BRIDGES: I entirely disagree with the member. Strong progress has been made. It is not as a result of the contractors; it is as a result of things like Cyclone Debbie and Cyclone Donna and other work going on. But actually I have seen many times—I appreciate that the member has gone there for the first time yesterday—the strong progress that is being made on those roads. It is on time on budget and we will have access at the end of this year.Rt Hon Winston Peters: No I was cleaning up in Cheviot just about a month ago.Mr SPEAKER: Order! Can I have the question please.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Given the work rate of one shift per day per week and not weekends—and not weekends—[Interruption] No he has got the picture right. You are upside down but that is the right way up. Given the work rate of one shift per week and not weekends does he think that work schedule remotely addresses the urgency required to clear State Highway 1 at Kaikōura 6 months on from the earthquake?Hon SIMON BRIDGES: Well it is good to see that the member thinks that these workers have a work rate comparable to his but can I tell the member quite clearly that actually I have seen them. They are working from dawn to dusk—and in some cases getting up very early—going very hard and good progress is being made. [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! I just need a little less interjection from my right.Rt Hon Winston Peters: If the locals down there are saying that the rate of progress is slow and not as the Minister says and that there are far too few resources being devoted to the re-opening of the State highway 6 months on why have he and his colleagues and the local member of Parliament not given it the priority it deserves?Hon SIMON BRIDGES: The member is wrong. I have been there many times to check on the progress. I think the member knows full well actually that this House passed a law to effectively suspend aspects of the Resource Management Act. We have committed $812 million to this the workers are out there as weather and safety permits every single day and I note when the member says that the Government is not prioritising it was only at the end of last year when he was complaining about how much we were prioritising it over his local electorate. Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The Minister was asked to answer questions on Kaikōura. The last answer was first of all not relevant to the question he is being asked and second it fails because it is false—demonstrably false.Mr SPEAKER: Order! That is not a point of order. If the member wants us to carry on with a further supplementary question we will have it. [Interruption] Order! I will have the supplementary question.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Yes you will get it. Is it a fact that the locals are right when they say that it is Monday to Friday never on the weekend and that the Government is letting contractors stretch this work out to milk more money out of the taxpayer rather than treating the disaster recovery 6 months on with the urgency it deserves?Hon SIMON BRIDGES: No it is not. In fact if you look at what has happened here the work in spite of the weather and the dangers involved is proceeding well. The costs actually have gone down from what we thought at about $1.4 billion to $2 billion to more like $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion to do both the road and the rail. There is real confidence about the work that is being done that there will be full access by the end of the year. I think that if you think about that and the progress that has been made it is faster than any significant project like this that we have seen in recent history.