Simeon Brown: on the three new tolls set to boost investment in roads

The government has agreed to new tolling in order to expedite investment in roads. 

Three new roads now come with a toll, all in the North Island. 

Transport Minister Simeon Brown has also set out a new plan to make it easier to set up new toll roads. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
If you want new roads, you're going to pay for
more road tolls are on the way. The governments agreed
to toll three new roads following public consultation. These are
Autaki to north of Levin. They are take Timu North
Link this is between Totong and Amokoa and pen Link
which is north of Auckland. Transport ministers also set out
a new plan to make it easier for more and
more efficient for NZTA to set up toll roads and

(00:22):
accelerate investments. Sam and Branner's with me good evening, Good evening,
Minister is this basically, can we assume now that most
major new roads in New Zealand, including the rons will
be told.

Speaker 2 (00:35):
Yeah, that's exactly right. We've been very clear when it
comes to building a major new infrastructure that we expect
NZTA to be considering considering tolling to help pay for them.
It means that those those who use those roads and
who benefit from it contribute towards the construction and the
maintenance costs of that infrastructure. But importantly it helps to
bring forward that investment when there's an opportunity to be

(00:56):
able to fund and finance that infrastructure over a long
period of time. So it's a user pays a approach
is what's used around the world. But it also it's
a tool that can help the government bring forward the
infrastructure investment.

Speaker 1 (01:07):
I think most people think it's not such a bad idea.
How long does the toll last.

Speaker 2 (01:12):
Well, it depends on the particular road. So for instance,
in some toll roads, the toll is for maintenance and
operations and for the actual cost of operating that road
over the lifetime of it. Others are tied to a
loan which might be paid to the NZTA to help
bring that construction forward, and then it will be over
the time that it takes to repay that loan.

Speaker 1 (01:34):
So let's talk about this like a'll take you to
North Levin for example.

Speaker 2 (01:38):
That one's for the maintenance and operations of that particular road.

Speaker 1 (01:42):
So they'll be paying two dollars seventy for the rest
of their lives. Well, the well for the foreseeable and
then it's increasing the year with inflation.

Speaker 2 (01:50):
Right, Yeah, Well, and the reality is it costs money
to maintain and operate roads. We've seen over recent years
when we don't maintain our roads properly, what happens to
the quality of that infrastructure and so there's a modern, reliable,
safe roads. They cost money to maintain and operate, and
ultimately by having users who benefit from that modern infrastructure,
the travel time savings, the safety benefits and reliability, that

(02:12):
means we can protect national land transport funds to look
after those rural state highways and those local roads as well,
which people pay their road user charges for.

Speaker 1 (02:20):
Because I think most people when they think of a toll,
they would think, like we did with the Auckland Harbor Bridge,
it was told then once it was paid for, the
toll stopped. Actually, what we're moving to now is a
model where you are paying a toll for maintenance of
the road you are driving on, and you will do
that forever.

Speaker 2 (02:37):
As I said, it depends on the particular. What we're
providing NZTA here is with a tool they have to
put those proposals out to the communities.

Speaker 1 (02:46):
The primary purse if you can forward, if you give
them the lever to pull though, Minister, yes, then they're
going to pull it, aren't they. Otherwise their land transport
fund is getting raided for the maintenance costs.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
Well, ultimately, yes, that's correct, but we're making it very clear.
The intent here is to help bring forward infrastructure. Is
about that capital cost these roads that we're ultimately at
the same time for different projects, it will be for
the capital bring for that capital investment. Others will be
for capital and maintaining and operating them. But the key
message is we want to be able to deliver this infrastructure.

(03:20):
It costs a lot of money to build these roads,
and we want to help bring forward that infrastructure and
we want to use a pays approach, just like in
the rest of the world where we see modern, reliable
infrastructure paidful by the users of this infrastructure, delivering that
benefit to the New Zealand economy.

Speaker 1 (03:33):
The monument two Hawks Bay Link, that expressway is getting
a reprieve. They're not going to be told. Despite being
told that they might be told and having protests about
the toll, they're not going to be told. Is that
political decision.

Speaker 2 (03:47):
Well, ultimately the advice we got from MCTA as they
wouldn't have been able to toll in until well after
the road was actually opened, so it didn't make sense.
We said, that's outside of our government's expectation that all
new roads should be considered a toll in.

Speaker 1 (04:01):
So because it was going to be delivered before it
was going.

Speaker 2 (04:05):
To be opened prior to the it was late consultation.
And also the road would have been opened prior to
the nzity have being to put tolling infrastructure in place.
It sounds put a toll on.

Speaker 1 (04:15):
It's that sounds like it was quite a political decision.
It sounds like one you didn't want, you didn't want
to fight on your hands.

Speaker 2 (04:22):
Cabinets made the call based on those reasons. We think
that's a sensible approach to that situation. But going forward,
we've been very clear this is our government's expectation to
help deliver new infrastructure, the modern, reliable infrastructure that New
Zealanders need so we can reduce travel times increased productivity.
Tolling will be considered for all major new roads.

Speaker 1 (04:40):
That is some in Brown Transportmans to thank you very
much for coming on the show this afternoon. For more
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