"The worst it has been", "shocking", "falling apart" - that's how opposition parties have summed up New Zealand's roads after new data revealed the number of potholes being repaired had increased over the past five years.
It comes after Waka Kotahi received a record number of complaints about damaged vehicles caused by potholes last year.
But Minister of Transport David Parker said in July, Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency doesn't record how many potholes had been reported.
Data obtained by Newshub under the Official Information Act from Waka Kotahi shows the number of potholes being repaired had increased from 49,893 in 2018 to 54,544 in 2022.
The data also showed of the 14 regions around the country seven of them saw increases in the number of potholes being repaired while seven saw decreases in the amount repaired.
In Auckland in 2018 there were 1177 potholes being repaired but this dropped slightly to 1071 in 2022.
In the Bay of Plenty it was similar, there were 4283 potholes repaired in 2018 but this has now dropped to 3286 in 2022.
Further south in the Capital, there were 685 potholes repaired in 2018 but in 2022 there was just over a 50 percent drop to 294.
In the South Island, the Canterbury region saw 5664 potholes repaired in 2018 before this increased to 6419 in 2022.
The number of potholes being repaired in the Otago region also increased when compared to 2018 and 2022. In 2018, there were 3342 potholes repaired but this increased to 4547 in 2022.
One region that saw a dramatic increase in the amount of potholes being repaired was Northland.
In 2018 there were 3565 potholes that were repaired but this increased by almost 50 percent - to 6501 in 2022.
One region that saw a dramatic drop was Nelson/Marlborough. In 2018 there were 5145 potholes that were repaired but this was slashed to 2806.
The data could be looked at in two ways. One, the increased funding provided by the Government is paying off with more potholes being repaired. On the other hand, it could be viewed that more potholes being repaired means there are more out there and New Zealand's roads are deteriorating.
ACT's transport spokesperson Simon Court took the latter view telling Newshub the state of New Zealand's roads is "shocking" and drivers are forced to "dodge potholes like pinball wizards".
Court criticised both major party's plans to fix New Zealand's pothole crisis, saying Labour wants to lower speed limits, while National wants to fill potholes with money.
He told Newshub it's time for a change and New Zealand needs fresh new thinking.
"ACT is proposing to introduce a world-class toll roading system. It will use private sector financing and expertise to get new roads built faster and to maintain existing roads quicker and more effectively," Court said.
"This is what real change looks like for New Zealand's roading network. It is a genuine alternative to the current method of relying on excise tax and Government debt for funding, which has meant roading projects haven't been built and maintenance hasn't been actioned. ACT is ambitious for New Zealand and aspires towards a modern, thriving economy with world-class roading infrastructure, according to Court.
"With private sector financing and expertise, we can achieve that."
National's transport spokesperson Simeon Brown also wasn't impressed with the state of New Zealand's roads.
He told Newshub New Zealand's roads are in the worse condition they've been in and are falling apart.
It comes after the National Party unveiled its "pothole repair fund" last month. If elected to Government in October, National will allocate $500 million over three years to regional authorities and Waka Kotahi to repair potholes and other damage to local roads and state highways.
Brown told Newshub motorists have become far too familiar with potholes peppering our roads, which is why National released its Pothole Repair Fund policy.
"National will introduce new rules for pothole repairs on the state highway, ensuring that potholes are repaired within 24 hours, and will introduce requirements for NZTA to undertake renewal and rehabilitation work on at least 2 per cent of the roading network each year," he said.
But Parker is taking a different view telling Newshub 2022 was a record year for potholes being repaired, which comes after the Government increased investment in road maintenance.
The current state highway maintenance budget is $2.8 billion for between 2021 and 2024 under the National Land Transport Programme, compared to $1.7 billion in 2015-2018 - a 65 percent increase.
He said it was the National Party when it was in Government that froze the road maintenance budget.
"This Government inherited a road maintenance crisis. The previous National Government froze road maintenance funding in order to fund new highways," Parker told Newshub.
"As a result, roads were resurfaced at less than half the rate they should have been. The state of our roads deteriorated, making them more vulnerable to damage - including potholes - from the extreme weather that has hit the North Island, in particular, this year."
AA road safety spokesperson Dylan Thomsen said an estimated $1.2 billion increase in funding is needed over the next three years to catch up on foundation and resurfacing work that should have been done previously.
"The poor state of the roads has got to the point where it's in the news and all over social media, and road quality consistently registers as the highest transport concern in AA member surveys," Thomsen told Newshub.
Green Party transport spokesperson Julie Anne Genter told Newshub National's pothole policy is a distraction.
She said transport is New Zealand's second-highest carbon-emitting sector and the Greens want to see more investment in low-carbon transport options.
"However, the reality is that more potholes will continue to arise on our roads if we do not do things differently," Genter said.
"We need investment in low carbon alternatives such as inter-regional rail to reduce the pressure on our road network and its constant need for repair."
