Little Andrew: Land Transport Management Amendment Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLittle Andrew: Land Transport Management Amendment Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 04 June 2013. Volume:690;Page:10705. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]ANDREW LITTLE (Labour): I rise to take a call on the Land Transport Management Amendment Bill. I begin by expressing my considerable disappointment in the last member who spoke Chris Auchinvole a member who in the past has attracted my admiration and indeed on occasions respect for his worthy contributions to this House but that speech frankly is an embarrassment. But it is more than an embarrassment because it demonstrates the ongoing contempt and disrespect in which this House is held by members of this Government. To stand up in the third reading of this bill an important bill that makes radical changes to the administration of land transport policy in this country with a cursory barely two-sentence submission by that member is frankly a disgrace. Mr Auchinvole knows better as indeed do the leaders of his party in this House tonight. It is incumbent of course on the Opposition to take the debate on these important points.This bill makes considerable change to the administration of land transport policy in this country. It changes amongst other things the purpose of the primary legislation and therefore of the New Zealand Transport Agency. In what has until now been an agency that has been driven by a sense of a comprehensive approach to land transport an integrated approach to land transport this bill now minimises it and reduces it in the reductionist sort of approach that this Government favours to a much narrower set of parameters and drivers. It replaces what is a comprehensive and integrated approach to transport with one focused almost entirely on efficiency whatever that means. So it changes our approach to road planning. It introduces scope for more tolling and therefore for the privatisation of more roading over and above the approach that typically until now has been taken which is to regard roading in a long narrow country like New Zealand as being integral to our total transport networks. But this bill will replace that.You know the irony of that is of course that only weeks ago—only weeks ago—we had rammed through this House rushed through under great urgency legislation that will increase excise duties on petrol by 3c a year for the next 3 years on the basis that it was needed for transport funding but indeed what this bill does is give greater scope for toll roads and the privatisation of roading. So we cannot even get consistency in the approach that this Government adopts. We cannot get members opposite to defend this bill—to defend the approach taken in this legislation—so that we can better understand and so that the members of the New Zealand public who are tuned in tonight on this cold windy “haily” night when people have got nothing better to do than to listen toParliament can understand. The citizens of New Zealand will be none the wiser from members of the Government who choose not to defend this important and this critical piece of legislation. What a disappointment—what a disappointment.I want to comment too on the other thing that of course this bill does. This bill from this Government which purports to be the Government of regional voice and local voice provides for and portends the greater centralisation of roading decision-making. I know that Mr Auchinvole now that he realises the folly of his ways is alarmed at that. He had not understood that that was in the legislation and he expresses in his facial expressions great alarm and horror at that prospect. I can see it—I can feel it from here.But I would be remiss in my duties if I did not come to the House tonight to talk about State Highway 3 and north Taranaki because they will be sorely affected by this legislation—sorely affected. I want to talk about Taranaki my tūrangawaewae the area that is dear to my heart and close to my mind right now. I want to say that in Taranaki what we desperately need is a sense of coherence and cohesion in our roading planning and this bill will not give it to us—this bill will not give it to us. What we also need to ensure in Taranaki and on State Highway 3 is that the local voice is heard and this bill will deprive the people of Taranaki of that opportunity. You see we need a good coherent plan for State Highway 3 that section north of New Plymouth and not just the Waiwhakaiho bridge and the 100-odd metres of that bridge and the stretch to Vickers Road but the 100 kilometres through to the little village of Piopio which is actually in the King Country—it goes from New Plymouth to Piopio there. I also want to mention that little stretch of road just north of Hāwera around Normanby bridge because that has been a big challenge to the people of Taranaki as well.Fifty-seven percent of the Taranaki economic output is geared towards export. Whether it is for oil and gas or dairy or some of the engineering activities that are there 57 percent of the Taranaki economy is geared towards the export economy. That is twice the national figure. That is the significance of Taranaki and therefore the significance of the Taranaki infrastructure. We need roading that reflects the economic contribution that is made by the people of Taranaki. The province of Taranaki produces the highest GDP per employee in the country—Dr Cam Calder: That’s right—$120000 per FTE.ANDREW LITTLE: It is the highest GDP per employee in the country. Cam Calder who once hailed from that great region and who made the mistake of settling way further north of that region knows. He is ashamed to be living in a region that is making far less of a contribution per capita than the people of Taranaki. One of the consequences of having a region that contributes so much to the economic well-being of the country and that contributes so much to our GDP and whose employees contribute a disproportionately greater amount than any other employee in the country is of course that it demands a skilled international workforce. Those people are travelling up and down the roads of New Zealand and therefore in and out of Taranaki all the time. Of course the products of Taranaki—not only the goods that come off our farms but the products of our heavy engineering industry—demand good-quality roads and we do not have them.Here is what the local economic development agency said about State Highway 3 only last year. This is Venture Taranaki the local economic development agency which is one of our best economic development agencies in the country. Here is what it said in its report on State Highway 3 last year: “But there are some roadblocks that are preventing the Taranaki economy from meeting its growth aspirations and thereby contributing to the national economy. Our region’s roading network particularly the central artery of State Highway 3—between Taranaki and the Waikato and then on to Auckland—is failing to fulfil its economic potential.” It went on to say because it is byintelligent people: “Where considerable effort has been made to get central Auckland moving insufficient attention has yet been given to reviewing the critical links connecting Auckland to the rest of New Zealand—and thereby New Zealand to the world.” That illustrates the problem for Taranaki.The people of Taranaki will look at this bill and they will say: “There is nothing in this bill for us. There is nothing in this bill that will improve the prospects of State Highway 3 for us.” This Government is doing nothing for Taranaki. It talks big and large about Taranaki and about the contribution that it is making but the reality about the National Government running New Zealand in 2013 is that it could not give a toss about State Highway 3 and the infrastructure in Taranaki. It talks long and large about that region that contributes disproportionately to the great benefit of this country but it will do nothing for the people of Taranaki to improve their roads.That is an issue that the people of Taranaki and New Plymouth are getting angry about and agitated about. I am talking to them all the time and they are going to see some action. They are going to see some action from the Labour Party. When Labour leads the next Government we will see action on State Highway 3 on Mount Messenger on Awakino Gorge and on all that stretch of road. That stretch of road includes 65 kilometres of road heading north without a single passing lane. What person travels 65 kilometres in this country without a passing lane? Only the people of Taranaki and they have had enough and they want it changed. This bill will not do it and we will be—Hon Damien O’Connor: West Coasters do.ANDREW LITTLE: The West Coasters do. We will change this legislation to ensure the people of Taranaki have a better voice a stronger voice and soon they will have a stronger MP representing them in Parliament.