“Today in Parliament I asked the Minister of Transport just how much money he had wasted on the now-cancelled transport policies which ACT has always opposed,” says ACT’s Transport spokesperson Simon Court.

“Minister Wood claimed that $4.04 million had been spent on projects which have been cancelled or rescoped this year, of which $1.807 million was spent on contractors and consultants.

“Since February we’ve seen the Clean Car Upgrade (cash for clunkers), speed limit reductions and the social car leasing scheme all go on the scrap heap. ACT has always said these policies would have achieved nothing at an enormous cost. The $569 million Clean Car Upgrade scheme, for instance, would have reduced carbon at a cost of $126,444 - $1,138,000 per tonne. This is up to 21,000 times more expensive than the current Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) price of $54.50 per tonne of CO2.

“Written Parliamentary Questions answered by Wood show $726,000 of taxpayer money had been spent to date on this recklessly wasteful scheme without upgrading a single car, $287,000 more than reported by Stuff this morning. He also revealed that he anticipates further costs just to wind the scheme down.

“Wood did not bring up-to-date numbers to the House but in October responded to my questions that he had spent over $38 million on the programme of speed limit reductions. Less than a third of New Zealanders were in favour of these reductions, and ACT welcomed the Prime Minister’s decision to pull up the handbrake on the programme last month. Wood had no idea how much more money would be wasted wrapping this expensive and unwanted scheme up.

“These policies all have one thing in common, ACT has always said they were ideological pipe dreams which would fail to deliver.

“Wood said he’d spend $569 million to reduce carbon emissions at 21,000 times the cost of the ETS. ACT’s solution? Just use the ETS. Wood spent $38 million of hardworking Kiwis’ taxes trying to slow them down. ACT’s solution? Focus on the safety and efficiency of roads rather than kneecapping drivers.

“It’s surprising that even Labour managed to delude itself for so long that these policies were good ideas. Only ACT has positive, practical solution to ensure Kiwis’ taxes get where they’re needed most and not blown up in smoke as Wood has done. Today, Wood revealed millions in wasted spending which could have been saved if he’d just listened.”

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