Ardern Shane: Customs and Excise (Motor Spirits) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Ardern Shane: Customs and Excise (Motor Spirits) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:623;Page:18619] 
SHANE ARDERN (National—Taranaki-King Country) 
: 
 I have been sitting here during the debate wondering—particularly after the Minister of Customs’ contribution—why it is that the real transport Minister the Hon Harry Duynhoven the Minister for Transport Safety is not sitting in the chair instead of the Minister of Customs Rick Barker who is a relatively new Minister and who clearly has no notion whatsoever what the bill is about. That Minister said to me that I was wrong that we do not have taxation without representation but I once again submit to him that this bill provides for the raising of taxes by the power of the executive through indexing that tax to the consumer price index. It will not have to come back to Parliament. I say to him again that he should jump to his feet defend that position and tell me where else a Westminster system has such a draconian tax as that. 
Let me also remind the Minister in the chair that before me here I have a couple of cards. The pictures on them look vaguely like our Prime Minister—one cannot be sure just by the pictures—but there is no doubt that the pictures are of Helen Clark when one turns them over and reads the statement written on the back. This is the 1999 pledge: “My commitments are: no rise in income tax for 95 percent of taxpayers earning under $60000 and no increase in GST.” 
Here is a question for the Minister—I am sure he will be able to answer it. Is it true that the 5c petrol tax in this bill also includes GST? There is a question. Is that not an increase in GST? I am sure the Minister will be able to answer that. It may not be an increase in the rate of GST but it is certainly an increase in the total take. 
Then I go to another card. This one came out around 2002 for members who have forgotten it. It is called “Next Steps”. Once again it states on the back: “Our commitments to you: no rise in the rates of income tax GST or company tax.” That may be as it stands but the Minister should tell me whether an extra 5.6 percent on every “Joe Hard-worker” and every company out there plus GST is not directly contrary to the pledge on this card. Is it not? Maybe it is sophistry and maybe one can use the spin that comes from the ninth floor to manoeuvre one’s way out of it; maybe not. I know for a fact that the real transport Minister the Hon Harry Duynhoven certainly will not find this a popular tax to sell in New Plymouth the energy capital of New Zealand. I know he will be struggling in trying to get the good citizens of New Plymouth to see the merit of it as I know there are a huge amount of projects up there on the drawing board that cannot get through the Resource Management Act process. That member will also know that $230 million - odd was left unspent by Transfund through Transit; $230 million - plus was handed back to the consolidated account because projects that are on the drawing board could not get consent. 
Here we are today passing yet another sneaky little Labour tax through Parliament in the dead of night as usual when people are out working and doing what they need to be doing and when nobody is listening to Parliament on the radio—although they might be because they could be in the gridlock on the Auckland motorway on the way home—and will not know that this debate is going on. That Minister sits there and says that this tax is in the best interests of New Zealand because we will build new roads. I say to that Minister that that is an absolute joke. This will not fix the roading problems. The Government has a $7 billion surplus but yet again it says to “Joe Hard-worker” out there the blue-collar traditional Labour voter: “Look front up again. We’ve only stung you with 24 new taxes. Here’s another one. You can pay. It doesn’t matter that you’re $250 a week behind your Australian colleagues already. That doesn’t matter and look we will fix your roads.”