The Government says draft transport priorities that proposed to "elevate emissions reduction" as a focus will change in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle.
The priorities are set out in an engagement paper and further details were revealed by the New Zealand Herald on Monday morning via documents provided under the Official Information Act.
The Herald reported that in a briefing document Transport Minister Michael Wood had proposed changes to the way $2b of maintenance money was spent each year, meaning car parks could be swapped for bus lanes or cycleways using money used to fix potholes.
In a statement released on Monday afternoon, Transport Minister Michael Wood said the Government was now working on an "emergency style" government policy statement on land transport (GPS).
It would "focus on the huge task of reconstruction of roads and bridges washed out by the cyclone and flooding, as well as building greater resilience so our transport network can better withstand the increasing frequency of extreme weather events like we have seen this year".
“No final decisions, including changes to fuel exercise duty, have been made as we are still work through the full extent of the damage inflicted by Gabrielle."
He said the next GPS would "continue our record-breaking investment in transport infrastructure to in order to catch up with years of under investment by the previous Government".
"Much like if you refuse to maintain your house or car for nearly a decade, you'll pay for it later; this is what we have been dealing with."
He said the Government was investing $7 billion into local road and state highway maintenance as part of the National Land Transport Plan 21-24, which would see about 7000 lane kilometres of state highway and 18,000 lane kilometres of local roads renewed.
"In fact we have increased maintenance spend by 50% compared to the previous government and we’ll increase it again in this coming GPS.
“The Government is committed to rebuilding and recovering from these recent weather events and build infrastructure that will withstand the coming era of climate change. After seeing the impact of the last few weeks on our transport network alone, it's clear that is New Zealand's only viable option.”
National and Act respond to draft plan
Wood's statement followed earlier reaction from Act and National to the Herald's reporting.
Act leader David Seymour said Wood needed to "scrap" the proposed GPS and start again.
"If Kiwis have learnt anything from the past couple of months it is of the need for safe and resilient roading infrastructure, not less maintenance and more cycleways."
National leader Christopher Luxon said he could not understand the proposal and he did not support it.
He said electric vehicles and hydrogen trucks were needed for a more "emissions-friendly" future, and those vehicles needed good roads to run on.
"Our road network's in terrible disrepair, and taking the maintenance money and putting it into cycle lanes, just seems like we're not solving the core problem."
Asked how National would reduce emissions across the transport sector, Luxon said the public would hear more about National's climate policy "in the coming weeks and months".
"One of the things that we're saying is... as a government, what is it that uniquely we can do that the market can't do. One of the things is if you think about charging networks, is there work that governments could do about consenting renewal energy quicker?"
SHARE ME