U-turns this fast are very rare, but we've got one. 

Transport Minister Michael Wood is already backpedalling on his plan to spend more of our pothole repair money on cycleways. 

The first we heard about this was in the Herald this morning. Michael Wood's plan was to use the draft policy statement on land transport to make emissions reductions his biggest transport goal for the next ten years.

That means, as I say, more pothole repair money going into cycleways, pushing up fuel taxes and ultimately forcing us to drive less in order to emit less.

He was still standing by it at 5 minutes past 7 this morning when he was on with Mike, but already backpedalling before 2pm, saying in a statement that climate goal will change now because of the cyclone taking out so many roads.

But he backpedalled so fast, he left mistakes all over the media statement.

Petrol exercise tax: We are still work through the full extent investment in transport infrastructure to in order to catch up.

That’s the haste with which they wrote this thing and didn’t proofread.

And while he was happy to talk about it at 7:05 this morning, he doesn't want to talk about it anymore. 

When I asked him to come on the show so we could ask him why he's changed his mind so fast, he said no.

• Details have yet to be decided, draft for the new transport strategy yet to be released
• Govt to add to Cyclone Gabrielle recovery funding

Of course he had to change his mind; he is way out of touch with the rest of us on planet Earth.

You go out and ask Kiwis what the number one priority should be for our roads and they will probably say: 'fix the potholes'.

And if they don’t say that, they'll say 'repair the roads taken out by Cyclone Gabrielle'. Or ‘build more fast highways like the Waikato Expressway’. Or ‘make roads safer’.

But build cycleways and reduce driving? Come on.

He had to change his mind because if he didn't it would cost Labour votes at the election.

Because this is the same kind of nonsense that Jacinda's Government pulled on us that left her trailing the Nats in the polls. You know the PM got on the phone after that story in the Herald.

Chippy wants to win the election and he doesn’t need Michael’s cycle lanes ruining Labour’s chances, hence the u-turn.

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