King Annette: Land Transport Management Amendment Bill — Instruction to Committee In Committee Instruction to Committee In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
King Annette: Land Transport Management Amendment Bill — Instruction to Committee In Committee Instruction to Committee In Committee 
[Sitting date: 01 July 2008. Volume:648;Page:17048. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Minister of Transport) 
: 
 This is a very important bill affecting land transport in New Zealand. A lot of effort and work has been put into this legislation by many people. I will begin by thanking members and staff of the Ministry of Transport for the work they have done in helping to prepare this bill and servicing the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee during its hearings. I also thank the members of the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee for the very good work they did on this bill during its time at that committee. In particular I acknowledge the chairmanship of Mark Gosche in steering this bill through the committee. 
The bill is important because it has a number of key aspects to it. The first is that it reserves fuel excise duty for land transport purposes. This is something many members of this House have wanted for a long time and in this respect I would like to acknowledge members like Peter Brown and Mark Gosche who have argued this for many years. This is called hypothecation—in other words dedication of all funds that are taken from road users either by a petrol excise duty road-user charges or motor vehicle licensing—and it is put into the National Land Transport Fund dedicated to transport. For many years Governments have dipped their hands into that money and spent it on other activities. No one is saying that they were not worthy activities but the money was certainly not being spent entirely on transport. This bill ensures that whatever revenue is collected is then dedicated to transport. 
It also introduces 3-year regional land transport programmes and a 3-year National Land Transport Programme. It puts in place a 3-year planning cycle which is something people have said we have needed for a long time. The first real long-term planning came in Budget 2006 when we set out funding over a 5-year period. What came through very strongly was the need to have longer-term planning for our transport system to ensure that those who are building the roads those who are providing the passenger transport and those who are involved in the transport sector have the ability to plan ahead and know what they are doing. 
It also provides for a 3-year Government policy statement. This is important. The Government policy statement will be set out for a 3-year period and it will be updated every 3 years so that we can ensure that people know the expectations of a Government and where its priorities are in transport. The bill also streamlines the membership of the land transport committees. As is known by many members in this House land transport committees in some areas have been large and cumbersome and have found it hard to make decisions. The bill reduces the number of members on those committees while retaining community representation. It also brings about the merger of two Crown entities—Transit and Land Transport New Zealand—into a single statutory Crown entity. It implements much of the Next Steps review that we undertook in terms of changes to the transport sector. The aim is to have an efficient safe well-integrated transport system for New Zealand with every mode working well. 
We know that transport is more than just roads. Roads are important but it is more than just roads. This bill allows for the introduction of a regional fuel tax. A region can decide that it would like to bring in a regional fuel tax for a particular project it wants to bring forward and see funded. I see it as a very fair mechanism. For example if Auckland wanted to bring in a regional fuel tax to electrify rail and ensure a better journey for those travelling on trains in Auckland it would then through a phased-in regional fuel tax pay for it out of the region. I see that as being very fair because people in Invercargill would say: “If everyone is getting their fair share of the National Land Transport Fund then why would we pay for a project that Auckland wants over and above that fund?”. The regional fuel tax is not compulsory. It is not imposed; it is a tool in the tool box of regional councils and regional authorities around New Zealand if they wish to use it. They have to ensure that they have consulted with their community and that they have agreement on their priorities and their projects. 
I will also talk briefly about the Supplementary Order Papers attached to this bill particularly the one about which we have just had a debate about in terms of its inclusion in the bill. Rather than the Government forgetting about the workers in less than 12 hours after the Toll sale being agreed to we have introduced through this Supplementary Order Paper the retention of the superannuation rights of Toll workers. It could not have been done faster than the way this Government has done it by adding a Supplementary Order Paper to this bill. [ 
Interruption 
] A bill could not be introduced when the rail had not been purchased. It would be stupid to bring in a bill to protect superannuation rights when the trains have not been purchased. That is the sort of thing we might have got from National but it certainly is not what one gets from this Government. Rather than forgetting the rights of workers within hours we have ensured that their rights are retained and those are the facts. 
I was a little disturbed by the talk about forgetting about the workers. We all know that the workers of New Zealand got a 68c increase in the minimum wage over 9 years of a National Government. That is how much National cared about the workers and New Zealanders should never forget that. Today National members are crying crocodile tears about the workers when we know that in 9 long years they increased the minimum wage by 68c. 
The debate today on the Supplementary Order Paper being part of this bill is important. It told us that National opposed the purchase back of rail by the Government. That is what the debate told us and I am glad New Zealanders were able to hear it. As I said this is a very important bill for Parliament. I welcome the debate; it is timely. I commend the bill to the House.