Twyford PhilThird ReadingHon PHIL TWYFORD (Minister of Transport): I move That the Land Transport (NZTA) Legislation Amendment Bill be now read a third time. I brought this bill to the House following the review into Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency's (NZTA's) regulatory capability and performance. I commissioned that review in response to a backlog of 850 regulatory non-compliance cases that over a number of years had not been adequately managed by the Transport Agency. One of those cases involved the tragic death of Mr William Ball. Mr Ball was killed when the car in which he was the front seat passenger lost control and crashed into a ditch near Dargaville in 2018. That vehicle which had just received a fresh warrant of fitness only one month before had not been properly inspected and was found to have frayed seatbelts. The inspection agent who issued the vehicle warrant had a history of non-compliance. In spite of this history the agency had allowed this agent to continue operating and to issue warrants of fitness for several years.In response to this regulatory failure and the tragic death of Mr Ball I commissioned a comprehensive review into the regulatory capability and performance of the New Zealand Transport Agency. The review and the final report found that the Transport Agency had failed to properly and safely regulate the land transport sector. This failing was the result of a number of shortcomings including a weak focus on its regulatory role and function a lack of clear accountability for regulatory decision-making and inadequate resourcing of the agency's regulatory role.Safety is this Government's top transport priority and I want to make sure that we are putting people and their safety first and safety lies at the heart of this bill. To ensure this we have prioritised changes to Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency so that it exercises its regulatory functions to promote a safe efficient and effective land transport system. The objective of this bill is to strengthen and clarify the Transport Agency's regulatory function and leadership role within the land transport regulatory system. The bill seeks to achieve this by establishing a Director of Land Transport role clarifying the role its objectives and the functions of the Transport Agency and supporting key regulatory interventions. The bill also provides a platform to give effect to the new speed management framework. This will provide for a more transparent and effective approach to the process of setting safer and more appropriate speed limits on our roads outside our schools and in our urban centres. It's one of 15 actions in the initial action plan under the Road to Zero road safety strategy announced earlier this year. The changes proposed within this bill will ensure that Waka Kotahi has the tools it needs to do its job properly and to keep people safe.I want to briefly acknowledge that although the proposals within this bill are not law yet Waka Kotahi has already taken a number of important steps to improve its regulatory performance. This includes the recent release of the agency's regulatory strategy Tū Ake Tū Māia which responds to the requirement in clause 9 of the bill to develop and publish a regulatory strategy. I am committed to ensuring that Waka Kotahi and indeed every transport Crown entity has the appropriate governance resources and regulatory expertise in place to deliver effective regulatory outcomes and ultimately to keep Kiwis safe when travelling.Before I conclude I would like to take the opportunity to thank those who have supported this bill through the Parliament and contributed to the quality of the legislation. I want to acknowledge the work of the Transport and Infrastructure Committee and the submitters for their suggestions and recommendations to improve the bill. Notably the changes proposed in this bill were prompted in part by the tragic death of Mr William Ball and so I would like to acknowledge the family of Mr Ball as I commend this bill to the House.