Faafoi Kris: Land Transport Management Amendment Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeFaafoi Kris: Land Transport Management Amendment Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 04 June 2013. Volume:690;Page:10707. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]KRIS FAAFOI (Labour—Mana): Gerry Brownlee said in his opening remarks that this bill the Land Transport Management Amendment Bill was about cutting red tape and saving money. Well I think we would call that an exercise in political spin because under this piece of legislation the Government has to do only three things—that is give effect to the Government policy statement in terms of transport for any transport decision that the Government makes to be effective and efficient. So I guess when you consider what the Transport Agency used to have to take into consideration it is cutting a lot of red tape. But let us look because it is always the case with this Government that the devil is in the detail—the devil is in the detail. What kind of red tape are we cutting here? The Transport Agency used to have to take safety into consideration. It used to have to take that into consideration but that is red tape under this Government so let us get rid of that. After Queen’s Birthday weekend during which we had no deaths on our roads—and congratulations on that to everyone involved—we are removing the need for safety to be taken into consideration when this Government is making its roading decisions. Under this Government the safety on our roads is red tape so it should be cut.Let us look at what else the Government is removing from those things that we have to take into consideration. Our roading solutions are being integrated. So now we arejust going to keep building more and more motorways. Do not worry about what freight we move on the sea. Do not worry about our air transport. Do not worry about our rail transport. Let us just blindly keep building roads. That is exactly what this National Government has been doing. And funnily enough we also no longer need to take account of—because this Government thinks that it is red tape—the environmental responsibility that we as New Zealanders have around the building of our roads. We do not need to worry about the environment any more when building our roads. Let us just build it whatever happens to the environment. Let us just do it. Do not worry about it because under this Government being environmentally responsible is red tape. Let us cut it. Let us get rid of it. It is gone in this bill.And one that I am going to get into more detail around what is happening in my area is that this Government says that it no longer has a social responsibility when it is building roads in our communities. So damn the people and damn the effects that the roads will have on communities. Do not worry about the people. Let us just build the road. Let us just get it done. The Government no longer has to take that into effect. The feelings of people in those communities are red tape so let us cut them. Unfortunately that has been the situation for the communities of Raumati South Raumati Beach and on the Kāpiti coast where this Government wants to build the Kāpiti Expressway.Mr Brownlee also said that this bill was about saving money and economic development. Well that is not necessarily the case because the Government’s plan to build the expressway rolled over the top of a $350 million plan that Labour introduced late in its last term. This National Government introduced an expressway a monstrosity through the Kāpiti coast which is going to cost New Zealanders $515 million a considerable amount more than what was planned. When you talk in terms of the economic benefit of the Kāpiti Expressway which this Government is going to build it is a dog. A leaked report last year from the engineering consultants Beca Group showed that the economic benefit ratio of the Kāpiti Expressway is 0.2. For every $1 that New Zealand taxpayers spend on this road we are going to get an economic benefit of just 20c. In terms of economic development and a good return for money the Kāpiti Expressway is an absolute dog. The New Zealand taxpayer is going to lose money by spending money on this expressway when what we could have had was a better local solution for the people of Kāpiti.One of the things that this bill does is it removes the local voice from communities when transport solutions are being offered by this Government. This is absolutely a trend of this Government’s and that is very very sad.I want to just go back to the Kāpiti Expressway because it was a funny twist of events. When the National Government came into power the member up in Kāpiti the member for Ōtaki Nathan Guy was absolutely cool with Labour’s plan. He wanted the Western Link Road. He said he was working hard with the local mayor to get this project started because the funding had been allocated and the community wanted this road. Unfortunately Steven Joyce and the National Party’s plan to keep building monstrosity roads rolled Mr Guy and the Western Link Road turned into the Kāpiti Expressway. It is another example that this Government is blindly building motorways.