Cosgrove Clayton: Land Transport (Unauthorised Street and Drag Racing) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Cosgrove Clayton: Land Transport (Unauthorised Street and Drag Racing) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:607;Page:4613] 
CLAYTON COSGROVE (NZ Labour—Waimakariri) 
: 
 I thank the House for the privilege of the final call. We have had a very interesting debate tonight and I thank those Opposition parties that have made throughout the whole process over 3 years a very constructive contribution to facilitate this bill. I also thank the United Future party which only lately came into the House; it actively promoted this bill last week to get it up the Order Paper. 
I turn to the ACT-Green coalition. I listened to the contributions of Ms Coddington Mr Franks and Nandor Tanczos. It was very interesting that none of them have had the time to go out—or if they did they never mentioned it—with the police on the streets to see what happens. Mr Franks who is a bush lawyer expounded all night on high-minded theories of what might be happening to our communities but he did not go out with his local police to see the carnage that occurs on the road—the carnage that occurs when a family member is killed. 
Stephen Franks 
: Why don’t you do something about it? 
CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I have done something about it—we are doing it now. Before Mr Tanczos of the Green Party made his first contribution to the debate I asked him to say something about the victims like the victim in Christchurch who was killed. I asked him to say something about the families who grieve when a family member is killed as a result of these hoons. There have been many such deaths throughout New Zealand. Mr Tanczos failed to do that. He bleated about human rights and about civil rights. I agree with human and civil rights but they go both ways. I repeat what I said in my opening speech: the innocent who have been injured or killed as a result of these hoons have civil rights. [ 
Interruption 
] Maybe we ought to get the breathalyser out for Mr Prebble. He should shut up and stop disrespecting those people who have died as a result of hoons. 
Hon Richard Prebble 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. That comment is grossly out of order. 
CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I withdraw and apologise. 
Hon Richard Prebble 
: I am still speaking on my point of order. That comment by the member is grossly out of order. I know he is withdrawing and apologising but the sort of speech he is making is ridiculous. I draw to his attention that under his argument we should ban beds. Most people die in beds. 
CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I withdraw and apologise. I want to address a couple of points made by ACT party members. One is their calling the police commissars. I will not say any more than that insult; I think we dealt with it on both sides of the Chamber. Also Mrs Coddington tried to compare a death resulting from a legal activity such as rock climbing with a death resulting from the illegal activity of street drag racing. I do not think that adds up. 
I think we have done something in this bill—and many speakers on both sides of the Chamber have repeated this—that the community wants us as MPs to do. I am new in this place and I do not have the knowledge of other more senior members. But one thing I do know is that in our communities and in our electorates this issue is hot. People have said that they want this bill to go through and the parties have in large part reacted well. In a bipartisan way they have put the politics aside forgotten about who thought of the bill and refined the bill as the deputy leader of New Zealand First said— 
Hon Richard Prebble 
: I said “rewrote it.” 
CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: Yes with some new ideas too. That is a good thing because it proves that the select committee process works. The shame tonight is that certain parties have not listened to their communities or to the overwhelming view of New Zealanders the experts the police and the Ministry of Transport. They have decided to make political capital out of this issue. 
My objective when I drafted the bill was to save lives and again I thank people like Senior Sergeant Geoff Kenna of Rangiora who found the New South Wales legislation; Hugh Hanna who worked tirelessly on the issue and gave great advice from the Ministry of Transport’s point of view; Ian James of the police and others; and George Hawkins and Paul Swain the respective Ministers. 
Parents and family members who have lost loved ones through this activity have telephoned me and they wanted something to be done. I was out with a television camera crew on Saturday night and one of the television people said to me that she was petrified because her daughter was 14 coming up 15 and coming up to getting her licence. She wanted this bill to go through so that it sent a clear message to her daughter that that sort of behaviour is unacceptable. She did not want her daughter to be part of the body count. 
I conclude by thanking the various parties for their assistance and contribution. Unlike some members most members of Parliament have taken this issue very very seriously and want to see it resolved. I agree. I do not think this bill will be a panacea or a total 100 percent solution but it will go some way to solving the problem. If it saves one life or one innocent person from being injured then that is good. If it changes behaviour then that is a good thing. If it stops one white cross from appearing on a lamppost somewhere around the country then that is a good thing. I thank this House for its indulgence and for the cooperation from most members—there have been a few exceptions. I thank the Ministers and the officials for their assistance.