Nash Stuart: Road User Charges Bill — First Reading 
Nash Stuart: Road User Charges Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:670;Page:16784] 
STUART NASH (Labour) 
: 
 I support the Road User Charges Bill but I have a number of concerns which I will outline. My main concern is that this Government actually has no real plan whatsoever for the transport sector. It has no plan for the transport sector and I will give members a real live Hawke’s Bay example of exactly what I mean. But before I start I say to the previous Green speaker Gareth Hughes that I also have never accepted any money from the transport sector. However if it ever wants to offer me money I am based in Napier. I am only kidding. We will have to declare any donation over $1500. 
There is no plan; there is no strategy for a New Zealand roading sector or for the New Zealand transport sector. Let me give members an example. In Hawke’s Bay the Labour Government allocated $71 million— 
Hon Shane Jones 
: How much? 
STUART NASH 
: —$71 million—for infrastructure development in Hawke’s Bay. That was money collected from Hawke’s Bay residents filling up their tanks at Hawke’s Bay petrol stations and driving on Hawke’s Bay roads. There was $71 million put aside by Labour for Hawke’s Bay which was to be administered by the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council. The Hawke’s Bay Regional Council thought that it was such an important step forward that it put the chair of the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council in charge of its transport strategy. The chair was a man called Alan Dick a much esteemed gentleman. He had been the Mayor of Napier for three terms he knew the region like the back of his hand and he always did what was best for the people of Hawke’s Bay. The strategy that this transport committee came up with was superb. It was really going to improve the infrastructure of Hawke’s Bay. 
One of the main reasons that that strategy was so important was that Treasury said in a document that the highest level of economic payback for any dollar spent is that spent in infrastructure. If the Government invested $71 million in Hawke’s Bay infrastructure the payback would be enormous. We were looking forward to the investment for a number of reasons. First of all it would have taken trucks off Marine Parade. Secondly it would have made our port which is one of the most efficient ports in New Zealand probably the most efficient port in the country. Thirdly it would have meant that businesses around the country would have relocated to Hawke’s Bay because the infrastructure was in place and ready. Fourthly it would have created jobs in Napier. Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne have 7000 unemployed people—7000. This investment would have been brilliant for Hawke’s Bay. It would have created jobs. In fact if we look at economic theory around what should be done in times of recession we see that money needs to be spent on infrastructure. We should not give away $14 billion in tax cuts which will not stimulate the economy at all. Money should be spent on infrastructure. Those men working on the roads are earning money. When they are earning money they are paying taxes. When they are earning money they are spending it in the shops in Napier. 
I tell members a sad thing. When I wander down the main streets of Napier I am hugely concerned about the amount of retailers who are suffering. I am worried about the amount of retailers who are suffering in Napier for two reasons. The first is that the wealthy got massive tax cuts and they are saving them—they are retiring debt. The second is that those on the median wage in Napier got an extra $5. That is taken up by inflation in petrol and food costs running at 10 percent and the standard costs of living. People are not spending in Napier. But spending $71 million on infrastructure in Napier would have created jobs and economic development—it was what we needed. 
The esteemed gentleman Alan Dick the ex-Mayor of Napier got a phone call from one Steven Joyce. Alan Dick is a gentleman who has been involved in local body politics at the highest level and he got a call from the new Minister who said that he wanted him down in his office in 12 hours. Where is the respect? So Alan Dick jumped on a plane got down there and Steven Joyce said to him that he had had $71 million raised by the residents of Hawke’s Bay but now it was gone. Alan Dick asked where it had gone. It had gone to some big pot. And where is the money being spent? Where is this money being spent in Hawke’s Bay? According to the expenditure from the National Land Transport Programme for 2009-12 22 percent was spent on local roads. These are not State highways; these are local roads. There are criteria for Government spending on local roads: they have to be roads where people die and ones that are really dangerous. But when it comes to infrastructure and creating jobs they do not count so these roads will not be built in the Hawke’s Bay. I withdraw that; they will be built in the Hawke’s Bay when Labour comes into Government because we will restore that funding to the people of Hawke’s Bay. The money raised in Hawke’s Bay will go back to the people of Hawke’s Bay and Hawke’s Bay infrastructure will be where it should be. 
We all know that when the provinces do well New Zealand does well. I would like to ask that Government what it is doing for the provinces. What has that Government done for the people of Napier? What has it done? Nothing. It has taken our $71 million up to Auckland and it is spending it on I do not know what. Nobody in Napier knows where it has gone. The Government should read Keynesian economic theory and look at what Roosevelt did to get America out of depression. It should do what every economy is doing round the world except ours to lift people out of depression—create jobs. There are 158000 unemployed people in this country. Where are the policies to create jobs? I tell members one policy to create jobs: build infrastructure in Napier with the $71 million. But the money has gone. There is no plan for the provinces. And where has that money gone? [ 
Interruption 
] Are the roads being built in Mr Jones’ area? No; not at all. Where has the money from the provinces gone? What is that Government doing for the people of Hawke’s Bay? What is that Government doing for the people of the provinces of New Zealand? Nothing. No it is not doing nothing; it increased GST. It has increased the cost of living. It is hard work in the provinces and this Government is doing nothing about it. 
As for road-user charges I know all about road-user charges. When I drive my fire engine around the streets of Napier I have to pay road-user charges. People say to me that I need a fire engine in Napier to put out the fires lit by the Napier National member of Parliament. They are all over the place. There is no plan no roading strategy and no roading plan that anyone can put their hands on and say that that is the way forward—we are not able to do that. However Labour is supporting this bill to select committee for two reasons. The first is that there has been insufficient consultation across the whole industry and at least in select committee every person whom this bill affects or who wants to have a say will have the opportunity to do that. This was not done under Mr Joyce’s reign. 
Hon Shane Jones 
: And it wasn’t done by Tau Henare in the takutai moana either. 
STUART NASH 
: Not at all. The second reason is if in fact it does streamline and make the road-user charge regime easier to follow then we are all for that. A Labour Government is a Government that supports hard-working New Zealanders. If we can make it easier for hard-working New Zealanders then we will support it. We always have. Nine years—goodness me! We made this country hum. There was a 3 percent unemployment rate and now it is up to 7 percent. There used to be a joke that the Mayor of Napier under the previous Labour Government knew the name of every unemployed person because there were only about five of them. Now there are 7000 but this Government has no plan for the people of the provinces and the people of Napier are suffering. Mr Assistant Speaker Barker you know well that the people are suffering under that Government and it is a disgrace—it is an absolute disgrace. But on that note I commend this bill to the House and I look forward to everyone who is interested having their say—it is about time.