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The government's transport plan is "anti-rail" and ignores climate change, a rail advocate says.
Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced the next three years of transport projects, worth $32.9 billion, on Monday, with a focus on Roads of National Significance.
The Opposition said local roads, public transport, safety, and walking and cycling were losing out at the expense of the government's big new roading projects.
Opposition slams govt's transport spending plans
Rail Advocacy Collective national coordinator Niall Robertson told Morning Report New Zealand's reputation as a clean green country was at risk.
"It's anti-rail and it's ignoring climate change and everything that goes with that. It's actually encouraging more and more trucks on the road and we're awash with trucks on the roads at the moment."
It was a deliberate attempt to get rid of rail, Robertson said.
"It'll kill rail off because it'll cost another $200 per container to move it across the Cook Strait so everything will go over to road and that will really threaten everything from Hamilton south."
Rail misses out in govt's transport plans
He said $1b out of $30b announced would go to rail and much of that was for "catch up" or urban passenger services.
"For freight moving it around the country there's no real improvements at all, and everything just goes onto new roads and new roads and move new roads."
Road transport created more greenhouse gases, congestion and deaths, Robertson said.
'What we campaigned on'
Brown told Morning Report the majority of freight was moved on roads as it was the most efficient way.
"Ultimately this government campaigned on building and maintaining our roads to a high quality, that's why there's s significant investment in actually fixing our roads."
The pipeline of major road projects was also campaigned on, he said.
Seven of the 17 Roads of National Significant had been identified as being able to start in the next three years, Brown said.
"That's the work that NZTA is working towards."
Just $460m of the $32b was set aside for cycling and walking projects. Brown said that didn't stop councils funding their own projects.
And the plan included a significant investment in public transport which would make a difference in the major cities, he said.