Hipkins says Cyclone Gabrielle has impacted on government plans for transport Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says "a lot has changed" since Cabinet agreed emissions reduction should be its top transport priority.
Cabinet had signed off on an early proposal that had emissions reduction as the "overarching focus" of its next three-yearly transport plan.
This is set out in the plan - also called the Government Policy Statement 2024 (GPS 2024) - published in February.
Under this approach, the government wanted to reallocate some of the money normally spent on road maintenance - that tallies nearly $2 billion a year - towards bus and bike lanes.
It has now U-turned on this plan. Transport Minister Michael Wood said Cyclone Gabrielle had changed the transport priorities.
"We are now working on an emergency style GPS that will focus on the huge task of reconstruction of roads and bridges washed out by the cyclone and flooding, as well as building greater resilience so our transport network can better withstand the increasing frequency of extreme weather events like we have seen this year."
Wood said no final decisions, including changes to a fuel tax, had been made.
Asked about this at today's post-Cabinet media conference, Hipkins hosed down the suggestion.
"You will see that my track record here is to reduce taxes on fuel, particularly at a time when fuel prices are otherwise higher than they've been previously. I don't intend to increase them at a time when we are actually trying to decrease them."
Hipkins said "a lot had changed" in the last few months that would have a bearing on the final GPS.
"It will change from what was previously consulted on. Clearly, there's been a change in leadership of the government but also we've dealt with an event that is going to have a significant impact on transport infrastructure and where we have to prioritise."
The Green Party said now was exactly the time to be prioritising climate change, and it would be a huge mistake to stop.
"I don't think it makes sense to stop prioritising climate change in our transport budget because we have to face the consequences of a storm which was worse because of climate change," Green Party transport spokesperson Julie Anne Genter said.
National, which was highly critical of the draft plan, said the priority needed to be rebuilding broken roads and bridges, and making them resilient for future cyclones and weather events.
"It looks like Michael Wood is backpedalling so fast that he may even get himself a speeding ticket," said National's transport spokesperson Simeon Brown.
The government says it expects to begin consultation on the draft GPS24 in May.
