Genter Julie Anne; Robertson GrantHon JULIE ANNE GENTER (Green): Tēnā koe Madam Chair. I just had a few questions for the Minister particularly focused on infrastructure spending priorities. Now that a much greater share of transport infrastructure is being funded by Crown funding and not the National Land Transport Fund I would expect the Minister of Finance to have even more an interest in the economic case for infrastructure investments.We've seen a number of projects that have been announced or are being worked on by the Government like projects in the New Zealand Upgrade Programme totally Crown funded; the Let's Get Wellington Moving programme options and preferred options; and now Auckland harbour crossing and Auckland Light Rail.In many of these cases where there are public benefit-cost ratios which represent the ratio between the overall expected wider socio-economic benefits of the project and the costs many of them fall to well below 1. At the same time we've seen the Government has received a business case for the Lower North Island regional trains which has a benefit-cost ratio of over 1. They're requesting most recently $350 million—I accept that might have increased a bit—but it's a very small amount of money compared to what's being spent on projects in the New Zealand Upgrade Programme or that is proposed for some of these larger programmes in Auckland and Wellington.I'm just wondering is the Government committed to investing in projects that have a good return on investment and will the Government be resourcing the Infrastructure Commission to do the work on an infrastructure priorities list that could help improve the business case process the optioneering process and maybe improve the overall public debate on where we should be spending money in order to make it easier for people and goods to move around the country at lower cost but also at lower carbon cost?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): I thank the member very much for her question and acknowledge the work that she's done in this area both before coming into Parliament and in Parliament.It is an area where I think—the phrase you used around business case" has triggered me because it is one of the areas where I think we can do much better. I think that's probably acknowledged across the infrastructure system as well that in an effort to make sure that we are considering options we are considering all costs lifetime costs and that we are making sure that we are driving value for money. I suspect we've overburdened the system when it comes to business cases. So that is an issue that I share with the member as something that I think we can do a bit better on. We still need to make sure that we go through the proper analysis we consider the options but I think that there are ways that we could do that better. I know that Te Waihanga the Infrastructure Commission does also consider those matters as well.In answer to the question she raised about the priority list yes. The Infrastructure Commission having produced what I regard as a very good document the infrastructure strategy they have a Government response to that. Part of that then flows on to how we get a priorities list. It will be extremely hard but something that I would like to think we could do and that that could have a level support across Parliament and across our society so that we all understand where we're going.What I can say to the member is that the infrastructure strategy highlights very much the issues that she raises around carbon emissions and around the importance of the infrastructure projects that we now do understanding their impact on emissions and being able to do them in a way that helps reduce emissions for us.The member raised the specific issue about benefit-cost ratios (BCRs) and the harbour crossing. When I was answering on behalf of the Minister of Transport to her the other day one thing I didn't quite get to say was the fact that obviously when we're looking at BCRs for the options there we're working on ones that were from last year rather than ones from this year. I guess that points to the fact that BCRs can change as a process goes forward and goes through.In terms of the broader comments that the member is making I support the fact that our infrastructure needs to be efficient and effective but also at the same time support our emissions reductions goals. We've invested significantly as a Government in public transport and in rail and we will continue to do so."