Joyce Steven: Road User Charges Bill — First Reading 
Joyce Steven: Road User Charges Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:670;Page:16772] 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister of Transport) 
: 
 I move  
That the Road User Charges Bill be now read a first time. 
 At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be considered by the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee that the committee present its final report on or before 25 May 2011 and that the committee have authority to meet at any time while the House is sitting except during oral questions and during any evening on a day on which there has been a sitting of the House on a Friday in a week in which there has been a sitting of the House and outside the Wellington area despite Standing Orders 187 189(a) and 190(1)(b) and (c). 
The bill will reduce compliance costs for transport operators and will ultimately reduce transport costs for our businesses and exporters. The changes before us to the road-user charge system are the most significant since the scheme was introduced in 1978. They form another part of the Government’s regulatory reform agenda to boost business confidence by cutting red tape.  
In March 2009 I was presented with the results of the  
Independent Review of the New Zealand Road User Charging System 
. The review found many positive aspects to the current system but it also identified a range of shortcomings. Over the past 18 months excellent progress has been made in implementing the recommendations of the review. Changes already put in place include the requirement to give 6 weeks’ notice of road-user charge increases and the passing of legislation that enables the use of electronic technology as an alternative to mechanical hubodometers and to pay for licences. That technology will remove much of the compliance costs for operators. 
One of the most significant changes proposed in the bill will see the removal of the system whereby heavy-vehicle operators nominate a licensed weight for road-user charge purposes. That will be replaced by a system whereby each vehicle will have its own permanent road-user charge weight. That change will greatly simplify administration for industry and for Government agencies and will virtually eliminate weight-based evasion from the road-user charge system.  
The road-user charge review also identified limitations of the current time licence system. Under the new legislation the time licence system will be discontinued. Instead selected vehicle types will pay a flat annual charge resulting in a much simpler system.  
A major criticism of the current road-user charge system is that it allows too many opportunities for evasion—conservatively estimated by officials at around $30 million a year. Our transport network represents a significant investment for both taxpayers and the government and I believe that everybody who benefits from this vital asset should pay their fair share towards its upkeep. At present we have a situation whereby honest road users subsidise some who choose to ignore their obligations.  
The bill looks to improve compliance with a number of proposals. The proposals are designed to strengthen the integrity of the system by requiring vehicle inspectors to report odometer readings to the New Zealand Transport Agency introduce more stringent record-keeping requirements for transport operators and give authorities more effective assessment powers in order to investigate and recover outstanding revenue. In addition to those changes an updated offences and penalties regime will also make the system fairer for all.  
Although the amended road-user charge regulations that allowed for the use of electronic technology were a necessary first step in modernising the road-user charge system road-user charge legislation needs to be further updated to allow for the ongoing successful integration of the new technology. Under the new system third-party electronic service providers will manage road-user charge obligations and information on behalf of operators. The providers will also act as representatives of the New Zealand Transport Agency for the purposes of issuing road-user charge licences. As a result it is important that the providers be monitored and audited under a consistent statutory framework.  
Finally the bill will enable the administration of road-user charge collection to be granted to a designated road-user charge collector. I propose to seek Cabinet approval to make regulations designating the New Zealand Transport Agency as the road-user charge collector. This change will enable the New Zealand Transport Agency to improve its processes and service delivery including making the design of its systems more streamlined.  
The bill is about updating and modernising a system that has been in place now for more than 30 years. The hypothecated revenue system means that all road taxes contribute to the upkeep of our transport system. The road-user charge changes will ensure that all those who use the network pay their fair share towards its upkeep. The changes will also help to meet the Government’s objectives of increasing economic productivity and reducing compliance costs for New Zealand businesses. In closing I say that the proposed changes will ensure that we have a road-user charge system that will continue to be relevant to New Zealand road users in the years to come. I commend the bill to the House.