Ministers turn on Transit over draft forecast

Government ministers facing fierce criticism over a cash crisis for roading have turned on highway agency Transit which yesterday said it would have to delay vital projects.

Transport Minister David Parker and Acting Finance Minister Trevor Mallard rejected Transit's 10-year programme and its forecast of a $685 million shortfall.

They vowed roads would be built as planned and the cash would be found to meet the cost.

"No options, including further borrowing, have been ruled out," Mr Mallard said.

Transit cited rising construction costs and diminishing revenue as the reason for the shortfall. It said numerous projects would have to be delayed, most of them in Auckland.

That cut across Labour's election campaign assurances that Auckland's gridlock would be fixed, and the ministers gave an assurance the work would go ahead.

"The Government will ensure that the largest road building programme in New Zealand's history proceeds," Mr Parker said.

"We are spending more than ever before and it is not acceptable that important projects are scheduled for deferment in the draft forecast."

Mr Mallard said there were concerns about Transit's planning processes, and whether they were leading to the best decisions.

National ridiculed the Government, saying it had totally failed to manage the country's infrastructure crisis.

Party leader Don Brash dumped the Transit report into a garbage can brought into Parliament's debating chamber.

"It's madness to slow road construction down as Transit has announced it will do because of a temporary slowdown in revenue due to current pressures on oil pressures," he said.

Transit said high petrol prices were causing motorists to use less, reducing the tax take it depends on for roading.

National's transport spokesman Maurice Williamson said New Zealanders were fed up with congestion and delays, and now the situation would become even worse.

"What we've got is a ghastly announcement that we are going to have projects further deferred," he said.

Mr Williamson told National Radio today that the Government collected $1200 million a year in petrol tax but only $600m went to the road fund while the rest went into the Government's coffers.

"This idea that there's a shortfall in revenue is just a nonsense," he said.

Roading bodies had been telling the Government to put all of what it took in petrol tax towards roading.

"Just commit the petrol tax and this issue will be dealt with," Mr Williamson said.

Mr Parker said on National Radio the proportion of road excise duty going into the Land Transport Fund was increasing.

Neither Labour or National had promised to put 100 per cent of petrol tax collected into the fund.

However, in the next year around 70 per cent of petrol tax collected would go to the roading fund.

The finance minister had said the funding shortfall would be made up so that Transit could stick to its old plan of roading projects.

Mr Parker said there would be a "jiggling" of priorities within the total amount of money being spent "but yes, the total amount of money that is spent will return to where it was before this latest announcement."

- NZPA