Williamson Maurice: General Debate 
Williamson Maurice: General Debate 
[Volume:648;Page:17124] 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON (National—Pakuranga) 
: 
 Yesterday we saw the most amazing confluence of two issues within the transport sector. We saw that on the very same day that this Labour Government became the owner of KiwiRail it fired up road-user charges to the trucking sector unilaterally overnight and with no warning. The trucking sector is furious about it. I have to say that if there is ever an example of a conflict of interest it is where a Government becomes the owner of a transport operator and on day one puts up the charges on the people who have to compete with it. 
The Road Transport Forum is known for trying at least to be balanced in how it deals with issues. It always has to stay onside with the Government on matters about how the road sector is worked. But yesterday the Road Transport Forum put out in bright red headlines on its press release: “Deliberate deception by Minister of Transport Annette King over increased Road User Charges”. That is what it says: “Deliberate deception by Minister of Transport Annette King …”. 
I want members to listen to what the press release from the Road Transport Forum said: “Trucking operators have been deliberately deceived by the Minister of Transport Annette King in announcing an immediate increase in Road User Charges says Road Transport Forum Chief Executive Officer Tony Friedlander. ‘The Forum was assured by the Minister after last year’s increases that operators would be given a month’s notice of any increases in Road User Charges in future. This was confirmed in writing by her officials. The Minister undertook to change the law to allow notice to be given. Clearly our members cannot rely on the Minister and the Government to keep their word.’ The Minister fully understands how much a Road User Charge increase without notice damages all operators Mr Friedlander says. ‘We explained to her last year how the lag between an immediate increase in costs and being able to raise charge-out rates to cover them can drive some operators to the brink. She said she understood. So she obviously doesn’t care.’ Operators are already struggling because of the downturn in the economy and historically high fuel prices. ‘For a number of operators this will be the last straw. The timing of this increase and the way it has been done mean the Minister could not have done more damage to our industry if she had deliberately tried.’ ” That is what he said: “could not have done more damage to our industry if she had deliberately tried.” 
The release goes on: “ ‘She should not underestimate how angry our members and the industry are.’ Mr Friedlander says as well as inflicting real damage on the trucking industry the increased costs of higher Road User Charges will inevitably flow through into higher costs for businesses and higher prices in supermarkets and for other goods.” 
There is a lot more to the press release but I want to use the few minutes I have to let members of this House know that on Friday morning in the central business districts of our main towns—Auckland Wellington Christchurch and Dunedin—the Road Transport Forum will use their power with their trucks and bring those cities to a halt in protest at the arrogant behaviour of this Government. I warn people that on Friday morning around 7 o’clock that is the plan. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Catch a plane; don’t use your car! 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON 
: That is what will happen. If there is ever a conflict of interest it is from this Government that wants to increase the charges to those truck operators. Trevor Mallard seems to think it is funny but I can tell members that some of those truck operators are absolutely on the margin of being able to stay in business—absolutely. With diesel prices where they are and with interest rates on the cost of borrowing for their truck fleets where they are some of those Road Transport Forum members are right on the margin. 
Then they got an overnight announcement posted on the Minister’s website. That is how they found out about it; that is how secretly it was done—posted on the Minister’s website. There was no notice to the industry or the forum. It could not have been more deliberate deception. The Government could not have done more damage to the industry if it had tried. 
So now what is happening? The Labour Government is happy about it. It paid $1.7 billion—I think the number is up to that now—for a train operation that it cannot justify. Somehow Toll threatened the Government that if it did not spend that Toll would close some lines down. Well of course Toll would say that. Why not take it at its word? Why not let it get away with it?