L M Law

Through the Beacon, may I ask the Labour candidate for East Cape, Jo Luxton, if Labour regains the treasury benches, can she assure us that the Pekatahi Bridge project will continue as planned?

The reason for this question is that at the end of the Key National coalition, roading projects deemed as of national significance were cancelled by the change of government.

■ Jo Luxton responds:

Labour won’t cancel projects – where contracts are in place and funding is in place, we will honour them, and we know how much our communities and businesses rely on the Pekatahi Bridge every day.

Construction funding for the replacement hasn’t been approved yet, so it will be considered as part of a new Government Policy Statement on land transport and our wider transport funding decisions, with a focus on projects that stack up and give communities certainty.