Brown Simeon; Rurawhe AdrianLAND TRANSPORT (VEHICLES RESPONDING TO ELECTRICAL EMERGENCY) AMENDMENT BILLFirst ReadingSIMEON BROWN (National—Pakuranga): I move That the Land Transport (Vehicles Responding to Electrical Emergency) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Transport and Infrastructure Committee to consider the bill.Thank you for the opportunity to speak to the introduction of this bill the Land Transport (Vehicles Responding to Electrical Emergency) Amendment Bill. This bill will update the Land Transport Act to ensure vehicles responding from lines companies to electrical emergencies are able to display lights and that other vehicles must make passage for them.This is my second bill which I've had the privilege of having pulled from the ballot and one which seeks to create a solution to what is a very serious problem particularly in our bigger cities where congestion is becoming a bigger and bigger issue not only for New Zealanders going about their ordinary lives and getting home from work but also for those who are responding to emergencies and needing to be able to move quickly through traffic. When an emergency occurs in New Zealand our fire ambulance and police services have the ability to be able to turn on lights and sirens and have traffic move out of the way so that they can respond quickly to emergencies whether that be a crime a traffic incident a fire or a medical emergency or often to what is an incident resulting in more than one of these services being required at the same time.This bill seeks to create an additional category by allowing vehicles responding to electrical emergencies to be able to have flashing lights installed on their vehicles which will enable them to move through traffic more quickly and better support other emergency services in situations where there is damage made to the electricity network and which poses a risk to public safety.Electrical emergencies can be very serious and lead to life and death consequences. In Auckland on average a car hits a power line every single day with fire and ambulance services often unable to respond to the person in the car until lines companies have arrived to the scene and disconnected the power. While the fire and ambulance services are able to display lights and use sirens and move quickly through traffic to arrive at the scene of the accident the vehicle responding to the electrical emergency or issues is stuck in traffic with the fire and ambulance crews unable to respond until the power is disconnected.A good example of this was on the Mount Wellington Highway in Auckland in 2018 when a car collided with a power pole which not only left 1416 customers without power but where the electrical response crew was stuck in traffic trying to respond with a delayed response due to traffic as the incident took place at 4.40 p.m. in Auckland one of the busiest times on the roads in Auckland. Another example was in the Auckland suburb of Saint Johns where there was a fire in an electricity pole on one of Vector's electricity assets. Whilst there was minimal disruption to the electricity supply for customers at the time there was a wider safety risk with the electricity assets being on fire. In this case the incident took place in the morning with the response vehicles taking over an hour to be able to get there due to the morning commute.These cases not only highlight the issues with the incidents that must be responded to where there is an emergency event and the fact that getting through the traffic delays the response time but the fact that this also impacts the speed at which customers who are affected can have their power restored many of whom are medically dependent customers of electricity.Medically dependent consumers of electricity are people who depend on mains electricity for critical medical support such that a loss of electricity may result in loss of life or serious harm. People who qualify for this may require ventilators oxygen concentrators or ventricular assistance devices with electricity suppliers having things that they must do to ensure that these people have the best possible access to electricity. Responding to electrical outages more quickly could mean the difference between life and death for some electricity consumers who are medically dependent on these machines. This highlights the fact that people's lives and businesses are becoming increasingly dependent on an uninterrupted supply of electricity. If response crews had access to flashing lights in every situation where congestion is a problem response times would be reduced and would speed up power restoration considerably particularly for those whose lives are put at risk.There are also already exemptions where other responders to emergency situations have the abilities to display lights so as to navigate through traffic. Doctors midwives and some nurses are able to use flashing lights which allow them to move more quickly through heavy traffic while keeping to the speed limit saving precious time in situations where there is a medical reason to do so. It makes sense that similar powers be given to those responding to electrical emergencies for the reasons given above.Not only are there already similar provisions for doctors midwives and some nurses but the issue that this bill seeks to address has been recognised by Auckland Transport where they have allowed vehicles in Auckland responding to electrical emergencies to be able to use bus lanes in the Auckland roading network. Whilst this makes a small difference this benefit only exists where a bus lane exists and only exists in Auckland. This is a problem not just in Auckland. Congestion is something which is becoming increasingly worse across New Zealand with TomTom Traffic Index statistics listing Auckland as having the second-worst traffic in Oceania with congestion also increasing in other cities across New Zealand. There have also been many recent examples where storms in Auckland have caused significant damage and significant congestion. Recent storms and the Auckland Harbour Bridge clogging our roads across Auckland only highlight—Shanan Halbert: Good example.SIMEON BROWN: —this issue even more frequently. I see the member for Northcote there is very keen on a cycle bridge which won't fix this problem. We actually need a new second full crossing if we're going to actually fully unlock that particular issue.According to Auckland Council Aucklanders are spending about 20 working days stuck in traffic each year. Traffic congestion costs up to $2 billion a year in lost productivity. These statistics simply demonstrate how difficult it is for Aucklanders to get around a city and then when you put on top of that where there's actually an emergency it really highlights how challenging it is for them to be able to respond as well.So this bill I've brought to this House is very limited. It will not allow lines companies to use this power without cause. The bill is tightly confined to only allow the use of this power to be used where there is damage done to the electricity network and there is a risk to the public safety. We're not going to see electrical response vehicles constantly seeking to get around Auckland faster for their day-to-day business. This is tightly confined as this is about situations where there is a risk to public safety and to life.I hope that all members of this House will support this bill. This bill seeks to make a positive difference with which the average Kiwi will see is sensible. It is an easy change and could indeed save lives. Passing this bill seems to me to use a colloquial phrase a no-brainer. As such I have great hope in commending this bill to the House and in particular the Labour Party giving it its full support. DEPUTY SPEAKER: The question is that the motion be agreed to.