$45 million in three years: Government defends speed limit review spend

The Transport Minister is defending the Government's multi-million dollar spend on investigating and adjusting speed limits across the country, saying it costs money to make roads safer.

Answers to written questions to Minister Michael Wood reveal that over the last three years, almost $45 million has been spent on speed management plans, investigating and making changes to speed limits.

The money also helped pay for "extensive stakeholder engagement, [as well as] iwi and community consultation," according to Wood's answer.

It comes at a time when the Opposition has questioned the spending priorities of Waka Kotahi, New Zealand's Transport Agency.

"Labour is trying to slow Kiwis down on the road, and they're spending millions of taxpayer dollars doing it," Act leader David Seymour said.

"There's now an open question about whether New Zealand's roads have more orange cones or more potholes."

Seymour said Waka Kotahi's solution is to spend taxpayer money reducing the speed limits instead of fixing the roads.

But Wood has pushed back.

"It is ridiculous of Act to suggest that Waka Kotahi should not properly resource this area."

He said the Government's target is to reduce the number of people dying or being seriously injured on the roads by 40 per cent by 2030.

"Reaching this target requires improving all parts of the transport system – safer roads, safer vehicles, safer drivers and safer speeds."

Transport Minister Michael Wood. Photo / Mark Mitchell

News of the Government's $45m spend on adjusting and investigating speed limits comes as National has ramped up its attacks on New Zealand's transport agency.

"Kiwis are sick and tired of all the potholes peppering New Zealand's roads which are damaging vehicles and causing havoc for motorists," said the party's transport spokesman Simeon Brown.

"We're hearing from people every day who say the roads are the worst they've ever seen them," said Brown.

But, again, Wood has pushed back.

He pointed to the $2.8 billion which is being spent to maintain and operate the country's 11,000km of state highways through the 2021-2024 National Land Transport Programme (NLTP).

This, he said, includes an additional $400m over the initial budget, which is targeted at pavement and surfacing renewals.

"[The Opposition's] suggestion of a choice between good speed management and maintenance is also absurd and immature; we need to do both."