National argues the Government's decision to invest tens of millions into inter-regional public transport, focused on trains, is unnecessary as InterCity buses already exist.
In the past week, Transport Minister David Parker signalled that $105 million would be invested into delivering improved transport between regions over the next three years.
It came in its transport policy statement which, for the first time, made "inter-regional public transport" its own activity class for transport investment.
Officials wrote that services covered in the category would be focused on passenger trains, but it could also be applied to inter-regional buses and ferries.
But the opposition's transport spokesperson Simeon Brown told Q+A today that National wouldn't splash out the same kind of money for regional public transport.
Brown added that central government investment into walking and cycling projects, which has grown in the new policy statement, "needs to be flatlined, to be honest".
"They're adding more and more activity classes to the National Land Transport Fund, so no, we wouldn't [fund those projects]. Ultimately, you can get an InterCity bus between here and most parts of the country for a very small cost and is commercially operated," he said.
"This Government's vision now is to try to extend public transport — from being just around within our urban environments to tackle congestion and ensure people have choices — to now actually connecting our regions where it's already commercially viable."
Brown has long been critical of the Government's introduction of Te Huia, a daily passenger train service between Auckland and Hamilton, but has recently backed away from committing to outright scrap the scheme.
He stressed to media earlier this month that National is "very open to having those kinds of regional connections" but said Te Huia would undergo a "cost-benefit" analysis if the party was elected in October.
"It is a huge cost. National wouldn't have done it but it's started now, so if we are elected we are going to have a look at it from a cost-benefit perspective," he said.
The National leader reiterated his sentiment that the train service is an example of wasted Government spending when asked about it in Ashburton on Friday. (Source: 1News)
'Flatline' walking, cycling project funding - Brown
In its transport policy statement, the Government also announced a big boost to walking and cycling projects — with investment in the activity class jumping nearly 80% from $420 million to $750 million over the next three years.
Speaking to Q+A, Brown argued that funding for the projects from central government "needs to be flatlined".
"We wouldn't increase it to that to that level," he said. "I think it needs to be flatlined, to be honest.
"Ultimately what we should be doing is actually being very careful with taxpayers' money, and investing first and foremost in building and maintaining the transport network.
"Look at the percentage of people who actually walk and cycle to work compared to the percentage of people who drive to get to work, and public transport.
"This Government is prepared to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in cycleways — they spent $50 million on the cycle bridge which they didn't even build."
Bike Auckland's Karen Hormann says the Government's timeline on the project "is a long way off". (Source: Breakfast)
Experts have advocated for greater investment in safe cycling infrastructure as a way for drivers to escape traffic congestion and reduce transport emissions.
No emissions check done on new roads, National says
When pressed, Brown told Q+A that National hadn't carried out any emissions modelling on its new plan to build 13 major roads as part of its $24 billion transport plan.
He responded: "We don't have an army of officials. But what we are committed to doing is doing that work in government… we actually asked the Government, whether there was modelling done on those projects. In most of the projects, there hasn't been modelling done."
The transport spokesperson said it made more sense, from an emissions perspective, to have cars flowing freely instead of being stuck in traffic.
It will likely be part of its final Emissions Reduction Plan. (Source: 1News)
"When [cars are] moving, it's far more efficient from a carbon perspective than when it's idling in traffic," he said. "Ultimately, over time, also the type of cars that people drive, hydrogen trucks, they're all going to need roads to drive on."
Speaking to Q+A, Brown was also questioned about the costings used in National's plan, some of which were eight years old, and whether inflation was taken into account.
"We accounted for inflation by setting aside a 10% contingency across the transport plan to allow for the cost and pressure on those projects."
He said that National had also used the "upper estimates" for the projects it included.
Q+A with Jack Tame is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
SHARE ME