Hon Jim Anderton

Progressive Party leader

4 November 2008 Media Statement

Stop the pork barrel Muldoonism

The $100 million pork barrel announcement by National in Tauranga today is the best possible reason for infrastructure investment to be handled through an infrastructure bank, Progressive MP Jim Anderton says.

"Walking into a marginal seat and handing out $100 million promises is back to the worst excesses of Muldoonism and ad hoc budgeting. It comes on top of a promise of a $30 million school yesterday. This is a very bad way to make public policy.

"There may well be a good case for the road in Tauranga, but it needs to be transparently compared to the business case for other possible infrastructure uses for $100 million, and there needs to be a very transparent total pool of funding available."

The Progressives on Sunday released a policy calling for an infrastructure bank.

"We support increasing infrastructure investment to accelerate the economy, but it needs to be transparent and accountable, not ad hoc. It should be clear how the money will be paid back, so that it can be freshly reinvested in other infrastructure schemes.

"Special projects could offer the chance for private investors to buy infrastructure bonds, so that cash that used to go to failed finance companies can be used instead to help rebuild New Zealand."

ENDS

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