The National Party has unveiled its $24 billion transport package which it says will get Kiwis "where they want to go faster and safer".
The party revealed its 'Transport for the Future' policy with three headline priorities; deliver new roads of national significance, better public transport and rebuilding regions and improving resilience.
National Party leader Christopher Luxon said his party's plan will slash congestion, unlock housing growth, boost productivity and lift incomes.
If elected, National promises to deliver 13 new roads of "national significance", many of which include four-lane roads.
'New Roads of national significance'
Northland:
- Whangārei to Port Mardsen: $1.3 billion
- Warkworth to Wellford: $2.2 billion
Auckland:
- Mill Rd Stage One: $1.3 billion
- East-West Link: $1.9 billion
- North-West Alternative State Highway: $2.3 billion
Bay of Plenty:
- Tauriko West State Highway 29: $1.9 billion
- Tākitimu Northern Link Stage Two: $277 million
Waikato:
- Cambridge to Piarere Expressway: $721 million
- Southern Links: $600 million
Greater Wellington:
- Petone to Grenada Link Road and Cross Valley Link: $1.8 billion
- Second Mt Victoria Tunnel: $2.2 billion
Nelson:
- Hope Bypass: $250 million
Canterbury:
- Belfast to Pegasus motorway including the Woodend Bypass: $270 million
National Transport spokesperson Simeon Brown said the 13 new roads will "unlock tens of thousands of new houses in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga and Wellington".
The party's Infrastructure spokesperson Chris Bishop said Aotearoa's housing crisis will be solved through a "mixture of greater density in our cities and new development of greenfield housing".
"National’s Transport for the Future plan will facilitate tens of thousands of new houses by requiring the New Zealand Transport Agency to prioritise funding for state highways in four areas needing new housing developments."
'Better Public Transport'
National has committed to delivering a "world-class" rapid transit network in Aotearoa's biggest city, Auckland, with three key transport corridors.
The three transport corridors include North West Rapid Transit which will cost $2.9 billion. The airport to Botany Busway will cost $2.1 billion with $1.1 billion of Crown contribution, and the Eastern Busway will cost $717 million.
Lower North Island Rail upgrade
The lower North Island's train service will receive an $874 million facelift with a raft of upgrades.
The upgrades include 22 new four-car tri-mode units, infrastructure upgrades to train stations, a new maintenance depot in Masterton, a new train maintenance hub in Wellington, Masterton and Palmerston North, and additional track maintenance work across the lower North Island network.
The party said rail has received "significant investment in recent budgets but isn't performing".
'Rebuilding regions and improving resilience'
Brown said regions devastated by this year's horrific weather events will be rebuilt "including the Hawke’s Bay Expressway, a Brynderwyn Hills bypass in Northland, and upgrading the Napier to Taupō and Napier to Gisborne roads."
He said upgrades will also be seen in Ashburton, Queenstown, Otago and Southland "to deliver a better roading network for the South Island".
So where is $24 billion coming from?
National leader Luxon said the party's already announced National Infrastructure Agency will coordinate Government funding, connect domestic and offshore investors with New Zealand infrastructure projects, and improve funding, procurement and delivery.
He said 'Transport for the Future' will be funded through reallocated cash from the National Land Transport Fund, further Government investment and other tools.
"Potential to set Aotearoa’s climate progress back decades" - Green Party
The Green Party has come out swinging at National's policy, with transport spokesperson Julie Anne Genter dubbing it "nonsensical" and saying their plan "will make pollution and congestion worse".
"You cannot build your way out of traffic congestion by making more roads. The more you build, the more people drive."
Genter said National is promising to do what New Zealand has "always done".
"We will get what we have always got. Congestion, longer journey times, and more pollution."
She claims National's policy could set Aotearoa's "climate progress back decades".
"The Green Party knows that climate pollution must come down, and it must be fast. Our communities have already experienced the devastating impacts of climate change. Today National are telling Aotearoa they don’t care if it gets worse."
