9 August 2005 Media Statement
Bungling Brash wrong again on transport
Bungling Brash has got his transport funding numbers wrong yet again. Hot on the heels of the National Party releasing
four transport polices in one day on Friday, he's gone on the radio this morning and understated the amount this
Labour-led government spends on roads.
Bungling Brash boldly stated that the government currently spends just $400 million a year on road construction. The
real amount to be spent on roads this year is $1.352 billion.
"Its hard to fathom how the ex-governor of the reserve bank could make such an elemental mistake with his arithmetic,"
says Transport Minister Pete Hodgson.
"It's not as if he can't get hold of the numbers, after all Land Transport New Zealand had a copy of its plans sent to
him and the document is also available on the internet. All he had to do was turn to page 27 and read from the table.
How difficult can it be?"
2005/06
Improvement and replacement of state highways $518.20 million
Improvement and replacement of local roads $144.08 million
Maintenance of state highways $355.01 million
Maintenance of Local Roads $335.48 million
Total $1.352 billion
ENDS