Menéndez March RicardoRICARDO MENÉNDEZ MARCH (Green): Kia ora Madam Speaker. Thank you. It's a real pleasure to speak about the Land Transport (Clean Vehicles) Amendment Bill and it's been a while since I've been here; so it's nice to warm up and get some practice. I would like to start off by acknowledging the chair of the Transport and Infrastructure Committee Greg O'Connor who has shepherded this bill but also particularly my colleague Julie Anne Genter who has been integral in driving this work and who has not only been championing the policies that are in this bill but who has been advocating for many many years for a reduction in our emissions within transport acknowledging that particularly in Aotearoa this is a massive source of emissions and we need to be ambitious in the legislation that we're introducing so that we will ensure that we have a liveable planet and that we provide New Zealanders with the options that they require to move around. I was really struck by the comments from some of the members to my right who were talking about things like increasing options for people to move around and who were talking about potentially having cheaper vehicles in the second-hand market and were telling people how to live their lives—or even champagne socialism—because I think the biggest hypocrisy here is that often when it comes to low-income people it is those members to my right who tend to really like to dictate how they live their lives whether it is through benefit sanctions or putting in legislation that has meant that they cannot be their true selves. So it's interesting hearing people supposedly advocating for those in Mt Roskill and Māngere who actually have the most to gain from not just this legislation but a shift in our infrastructure when it comes to transport—getting people to use public transport and other ways to move around. So yeah we're looking forward to this rebranded National Party's championing of low-income people and why don't you start by supporting those on benefits? As many members to my left have mentioned New Zealand is a dumping ground for polluting vehicles and we heard a lot of resistance from industry to this shift in legislation because they know that they will have to change their habits. They know that we will no longer be their dumping ground and that they will have to change the way that they operate. It was heartening throughout the submission process to hear people calling for ambitious action on climate change to give people options to be able to purchase cheaper electric vehicles which again takes me to that disconnect that the National members were having when it comes to just the reality that people on the ground face because low-income people are not buying new vehicles. Low-income people if they're lucky are buying second-hand vehicles and what this bill will do is it will guarantee that people will have cleaner vehicles at their disposal in the second-hand market. This will address equity issues. This is not as they propose a reverse Robin Hood act. If anything it's about giving people options and I think no one would kid themselves when it comes to climate action that this is a silver bullet. This is one of the many levers we need to pull to fully reduce emissions within our transport sector. So on top of this legislation finally giving people the options that they deserve we should also be striving for things like free fares; public ownership of our depots vehicles and services; better conditions for workers in the industry as well; and a complete paradigm shift when it comes to the way that we fund transport infrastructure. I think the debate has focused so much just on the impact that electric vehicles will have when it comes to reducing emissions and it's important to contextualise this as a broader way of thinking that will lead us to an Aotearoa where people will have options to get to work and to go to school and where low-income families will not be locked out of the second-hand market and given very few limited polluting options because we've chosen to be the dumping ground for industry. So it is a real pleasure to commend this bill to the House.