Estimates Debate — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeEstimates Debate — In Committee[Sitting date: 01 July 2014. Volume:700;Page:19063. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]DAVID BENNETT (Chairperson of the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee):It is a pleasure to speak on Vote Transport. This is one of the good news stories that we will be promoting during the campaign. Last weekend the Minister made another announcement in regard to transport around regional State highway projects. That is something of interest to many New Zealanders and something that will continue to build a stronger economy for our country going forward. It is all about working for New Zealand. It is a good news story in transport for our communities. Not only have we got the roads of national significance which are in the predominantly urban environments but they are very successful roads. I know in the Waikato that we look forward to the roads of national significance continuing. Our danger is that if there is a change of Government those roads will not progress. I see the Greens smiling over there because they know that they do not want to build those roads in Hamilton. That would be a great shame for our region which has waited 30 years to get the opportunity to build that road.We all know that in transport the Greens lead the policy of the Opposition. The Labour Party is a little puppy dog really—just coming along and doing what the Green Party says. Whatever Labour members say in this area is to be taken with a grain of salt because they cannot deliver on it. If they ever did get near the Treasury benches with say 30 percent of the vote and the Greens at 15 percent then we know who would be the Minister of Transport and we know who would be running the transport portfolio.When we look at the roads of national significance they are huge projects and they are delivering major economic benefits for New Zealand going forward. But we also often hear of regional funding and we often hear of arguments that there is not enough spent in the regions. That is simply not the case. The regions get a huge amount of the transport budget that is spent each year. Not only is there investment in local road maintenance which translates to between about $550 million to $595 million per year over the next 4 years there are also those local road improvements which go from $190 million to $250 million over those 4 years. Then we have the R funds which is the $360 million that has already been announced and then the accelerated regional roading programme that was announced this weekend of another $212 million for our regions.Those projects that were identified in the $212 million were significant projects in different parts of the country. I am going to leave it to my good colleague from the north to explain some of those. I know that he has been advocating hard for some of those projects. It is good to see that they have come forward for the two members from up north who have done such a great job in advocating for transport projects.We also have significant funding in walking and cycling and public transport. We will hear from the Labour and Green parties that there is no money going into public transport and all of these things—simply incorrect again. There is huge money going into public transport—$350 million in the Government policy statement for the year coming and going forward into 2017-18 and that rises to $410 million. That is a significant investment in public transport contrary to what those other parties will say.We have a balanced approach to transport spending. We take into account the needs of the communities around road rail and other infrastructure. We look at what is in the essence of building economic growth and something that will deliver on a day-to-day basis as well. We do not go out there and promise pie-in-the-sky events which the Green Party will do. It has now been overtaken by New Zealand First which wants passenger rail from every town or city in New Zealand basically and by the Labour Party which is stagnant in its transport policy and has no idea what is going on.We give real and constructive policy that delivers real and constructive results to our communities. It is not false promises. It is not leading people down garden paths that have no sense of reality or sense of being able to be delivered. We deliver real promises in real time for real New Zealanders. That is the difference when it comes to transport funding that New Zealanders will see as we go through this election process. Just to recap: this is a Government that has invested heavily in transport. It has invested in a balanced way that has taken into account all the different modes of transport and delivered for them. Through rail with our KiwiRail—