McKee NicoleNICOLE McKEE (ACT): Thank you Madam Speaker. I stand on behalf of the ACT Party while we are under urgency—yet again—to put through another bill—yet again—under urgency in support of this the Land Transport (Road Safety) Amendment Bill. But we do support it with some trepidation.Since Police changed their pursuit policy back in 2020 we've seen more and more people seek to evade police by speeding off. They know New Zealand Police will not pursue and I think my colleague Paul Goldsmith went into that in quite some detail. We are all aware of what is happening and what has happened since 2020. This policy changed due to public pressure after the deaths of young people who were being pursued.In 2017 there were 11 people who died while fleeing police often at speed and in vehicles. A further eight people died in 2018; six in 2019. When the Police policy changed in 2020 the number dropped to two deaths and one death in 2021. The policy is saving lives but the number of pursuits is on the rise because fleeing drivers now see the no-pursuit policy as the potential get-out-of-jail-free card for them. This leaves police having to identify and apprehend fleeing drivers after the fact. Police tell us that often the owners of vehicles do not cooperate with police by telling them who was driving the car that fled from them.We need to talk about putting our front-line police in between a rock and a hard place. Because that's effectively what we've done by introducing—or them introducing—their 2020 policy. Not being able to pursue they're kind of stuck. So we have to do something in legislation to help them.So let's look at the stats that I mentioned earlier around the rise in fleeing driver events. In 2015 there were 2997 fleeing driver events. But in the first seven months of 2022 there were 8673. We know that in 2021 only 17 percent of fleeing drivers were subsequently apprehended compared to 41 percent in 2017.So we support our front-line police to do what it takes to crack down on crime on harm and to keep our communities safe. They're looking for more deterrents and tools to help them apprehend and to hold to account those that behave outside the law and think that it's OK to do so. The bill introduces longer penalties for those found guilty of fleeing for the second time from one year up to two years.So we are supporting this bill in its first reading but we do have several concerns with some aspects of it and expect these to be fleshed out further during the select committee stage. This bill allows for the seizure and impoundment of the vehicle for up to six months with costs for towage storage and other fees being payable by the registered owner of the vehicle—not the offender. We've got a lot of questions around this.A person who is not involved in a criminal activity becomes financially responsible and is ultimately punished by having their car impounded for six months for the act of another. It's not cheap either. Towing fees depend on the weight of the vehicle the time that it's towed the distance that it's towed and then there are the storage fees on top of that. If a vehicle weighs under 3.5 tonnes you'll pay up to $71.56 for it to be towed. If it weighs over 3.5 tonnes it's $204.44 plus $3.07 for every kilometre that it's towed. Storage for 28 days for a vehicle under 3.5 tonnes is $306 and then $12.27 per day after. If it's over 3.5 tonnes it's $715 and $28 per day thereafter.So if you don't have a heavy ute or a van—that is you're under 3.5 tonnes—you're looking at a bill of around $2500 for six months plus no vehicle. And you may not have done a thing wrong yourself. That's what is concerning us. More than double that amount will occur if your vehicle does weigh over 3.5 tonnes. Some Ford Rangers with all the accessories on them do weigh over that amount.So we have questions about impounding a car as well—one that has a car finance on it. So we're looking for clarity around that as well. Questions that we have around disproportionate penalties: the absconding driver may get one two or even three months' loss of licence but the vehicle owner—who may have done nothing wrong—loses their vehicle for six months and could have thousands of dollars to pay to get their car back at the end of it. If they can't afford this and they don't claim their car then their car may be forfeited by the courts and the taxpayer ends up paying the fees because Waka Kotahi are going to pick up the tab.Where are these nearly 9000 vehicles going to be stored? And how much are the taxpayers going to have to pay? Because say—just say—out of those 9000 vehicles if it's at full cost at $2500 this is around $22 million of taxpayer money.This bill also prevents anyone who's had their car forfeited from being able to purchase another car for 12 months. Again I state: they may not have done anything wrong themselves.I have another issue: Labour's obsession with looking at everything through the lens of race and looking at everything through the lens of the Treaty. It's taking into a whole new level and this law in particular. The officials say people who flee from police are more likely to be young Māori men. It says taking action against people who are more likely to be young Māori men might breach the so-called Treaty obligations so it's going to make some of the powers discretionary rather than compulsory. I mean give me a break.This is the sort of nonsense that police have to put up with when they're just trying to do their jobs. Their hands are being tied to really fight crime by so-called Treaty obligations and it's absolute nonsense. Let's give the police the powers that they need to let them get on with their job.We would like to see a discussion around how we ensure that the property rights of innocent people are maintained against how we can support police to keep lowering the number of deaths but get the escalating numbers of fleeing drivers down.Aerial surveillance plays an invaluable role in mitigating some of the risks associated with fleeing driver events yet it's not even mentioned nor considered in this bill. Were police even asked or involved in the bill's development? The police aerial support units can provide information to those on the ground as to the location of a driver the behaviours of that driver as well as traffic conditions in the area.The Eagle can accurately track an offender without them knowing. It's reported on the New Zealand Police fleeing driver review report. It means the actual driver—not the owner of a vehicle—can be passively tracked and apprehension is more likely maintaining the reduction in deaths and lowering the number of fleeing incidents. Going after the offenders and ultimately punishing them—not those known to them or perhaps related to them—is where we should be focused.There are other aspects to this bill another bill being heard under urgency. It will require electronic addresses emails where available for driver licences upgrades the ability to send out electronic notices and it introduces the point-to-point revenue cameras.There is much to be done here and we would like to continue to support this bill as it moves through its stages. Here's hoping we have a robust select committee stage and changes are made that target the actual offenders of crime and support our front-line police. So at this stage we are happy to support the bill in this first reading.