Heatley Phil: Injury Prevention Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Bill — Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee 
Heatley Phil: Injury Prevention Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Bill — Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee 
[Volume:609;Page:6495] 
PHIL HEATLEY (NZ National—Whangarei) 
: 
 It is with great interest that I take the call and continue on with Paul Hutchison’s dissertation on the bill. It is interesting that the Accident Compensation Corporation is again levying the taxpayer—and a levy-payer is a taxpayer in this case. People who drive a car a boat or who ride a bike will pay more. Why is that? Why have costs within the corporation become so out of control that it has to look for more money in order to operate and pay its ever-burgeoning staff—the bureaucracy so to speak? That is the question before us today. 
The devil of course is in the detail and I can see little Lucifer right here in Part 2. Paragraph (b) in clause 6 states: “in the absence of regulations for the time being in force for the purpose of paragraph (a) at the rate of 5.08c per litre of motor spirit in respect of which excise duty … is payable under the Customs and Excise Act 1996.” 
Simon Power 
: Got it! 
PHIL HEATLEY 
: The member for Rangitikei has found the reference. This time the amount chosen to tax New Zealanders is 5.08c—an added tax that will go to the Accident Compensation Corporation to spend on an ever-burgeoning bureaucracy. 
But that is not what concerns me most. I noted when we were looking at subsection (b) inserted by clause 3 “Purpose” that this Government is legislating to avoid the need for anamending Act to consequentially adjust the rates of excise duty. In other words it is cutting through the red tape. We usually do not welcome that but in this case we welcome it in terms of slowing down this Government’s move to tax New Zealanders and rape their pockets. But subsection 3(b) inserted by clause 5 wants to avoid the need to go through due process and one could therefore say that this 5.08c is purely arbitrary. However it is not only arbitrary; it represents shifting sands when it comes to levying and taxing motor vehicle users in this country. I say that by way of a warning to members of the Committee. They should not be fooled that the amount of 5.08c is set in concrete for ever and a day because sadly Parliament is seeing this Labour Government make sure that there is no red tape. On a whim it will be able to change that rate and tax New Zealanders even more. 
I note that the levy payable under section 213(2)(c) of the principal Act is payable “at the rate or rates per litre or other unit prescribed by regulations made under this Act;”. I want to see what those regulations are because I am concerned that an even clearer passage may be cut in them to enable this Government to put up the rates at any time. I put that to you Mr Chairman. I see that you are raising your eyebrows and that you are changing your opinion on this bill. I will be interested to see you cross the floor on this matter. You know that rates for roading tax have gone up on a whim. You have sat in the Chamber until 3 o’clock in the morning and seen tax on sherry go up on a whim. You have watched the cows and sheep scatter in the paddocks as they see themselves being taxed to death every time they let out a bit of steam— 
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: The member cannot bring the Chairperson into the debate.