Chris Bishop: Infrastructure Minister on the Government's plan to introduce more toll roads

New toll roads could be on the horizon as the Government moves into its next quarterly plans.

It says it's achieved 39 of its 40 third-quarter goals, largely targeting law and order. 

The 43 actions up next focus on infrastructure and economic growth.  

They include passing the fast-track approvals bill - but also look into introducing more road tolls. 

Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop says they're unpopular, but they're a reliable method. 

"People think about other countries - toll roads are very common in the United States, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, many parts of Europe. Toll roads are standard practice and we don't use them enough here."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well.

Speaker 2 (00:00):
Infrastructure is that the heart of the government's latest quarterly
action plan. Across the forty three actions they want to
take in the fourth quarter, it wants to pass the
Fast Track Approvals Bill, the first of its RMA reforms,
and establish the National Infrastructure Agency. But the government is
also promising to quote take cabinet decisions on allowing greater

(00:20):
use of road tolling. So I think it's safe to
say we can all expect a few more toll roads
around the country. Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop is or weather us.

Speaker 1 (00:29):
This evening Kilda, Good afternoon.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Let's start with number one on the list. The Fast
Track Approvals Bill is set to be passed. So when
will we see project actually getting underway?

Speaker 3 (00:41):
Hopefully next year. We've got to get the bill into
law by the end of the year. It gets reported
back from the Select Committee in a few weeks time,
and we'll get into law by the end of the year.
And obviously we're going to select a range of projects
as part of that to be the first in the
queue that will be in the legislation to go off
and go to the expert panels for consenting, so they
will that will take place, you know, in the first

(01:01):
few months of next year, and you know, depending on
the project, hopefully we'll see some spades in the ground
next year.

Speaker 2 (01:07):
Why does New Zealand need to toll roads?

Speaker 3 (01:11):
Well, tolling is about new ways of financing roads to
make sure we can bring forward projects that you might
otherwise wait a large number of years to actually fund.

Speaker 1 (01:21):
You know, think people think about to Wronger.

Speaker 3 (01:24):
They've had toll roads there for many years now, and
you know, so that's a tried and true part of
the transport landscape and torong and we've made a commitment
to explore the use of tolling and other roads around
the country because it provides a revenue stream that you
can then use to help fund the road. And you know,
people think about other countries, you know, toll roads are

(01:44):
very common and you know, say Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, many
parts of Europe, toll roads are standard practice and we
don't use them enough.

Speaker 1 (01:52):
Here is our view, so we're going to use them.

Speaker 2 (01:54):
Massive pushback though in parts of regional New Zealand. Is
that going to be a problem for you?

Speaker 3 (02:00):
Look, I think I've said publicly before that it won't
necessarily be popular with everybody, but The simple reality is
that we need to use different tools like tolls and
other mechanisms in order to get the infrastructure that we
need built. And I think as long as there's an
alternative that people can use, you know, people are prepared
to do that. And if you say to people, look,

(02:23):
you're going to pay a certain amount of money and
it's going to speed up your journey time, I think
most reasonable people go, yeah, you know what, Actually, just
get on with it.

Speaker 1 (02:30):
Get the road built, you know, and it's.

Speaker 2 (02:32):
A critical part of it, right, There has to be
an alternative. There has to be a free alternative for
one of these toll roads to be put in place.
How much of the actual capital outlay though, does a
toll road cover, like does tolling cover the initial construction
costs or is it just the ongoing maintenance.

Speaker 1 (02:49):
Well, it depends on the road.

Speaker 3 (02:51):
So there will be horses for courses, and it will vary,
and it will obviously depend on trific flows and things
like that, and so I couldn't give you generic answer
because it really depends on the road. But that's why
you know, we're going to pass legislation to do that,
to take cabinet decisions to support the greater use of

(03:12):
toll roads and it will just depend on this particular project,
but you know we've made a commitment to do that
and you know you'll see that over the course of
the next few months.

Speaker 2 (03:20):
One of the other things in the action plan is
a call on the future of the greyhound sector. Is
there any possibility the government will continue to allow greyhound
racing into the future.

Speaker 1 (03:32):
I don't want to get ahead of cabinet on that one.

Speaker 3 (03:34):
That's an issue for Winston Peters and his Minister of
Race and Role. He's doing a bit of work on that,
I know, and so it's part of the Action Plan.
And so once we've got a cabinet decision on that,
you know there will be an announcement around that.

Speaker 2 (03:45):
And another one cabinet decisions on getting councils back to basics.
Is that just getting them to focus on the rubbish,
the pipes, the roads.

Speaker 3 (03:55):
Yeah, that flows from the speech of the Prime Minister.
Gave it to Keena down and Wellington, you know a
few weeks ago saying look, you guys have got to
cut your cloth. We've gone through line by line and
cut our cloth and reduced our spending. You guys have
got to do the same and very widely received speech,
not so much on local government land, but I think
most people around the country agreed with that, and so
you know, we signaled in that speech that there will

(04:15):
be legislation coming around that, and so you'll see that
over the next the next quarter as well.

Speaker 2 (04:20):
Thanks for your time, We appreciate that, as Infrastructure Minister
Chris Bishop. For more from Hither Duplassy Allen Drave, listen
live to news Talks it'd be from four pm weekdays,
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