Wong Pansy: Land Transport Amendment Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee Third Reading 
Wong Pansy: Land Transport Amendment Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:626;Page:21380] 
PANSY WONG (National) 
: 
 I notice from the timetable that this bill’s passage through the House is being completed on almost the anniversary date of its introduction to Parliament. The bill was introduced in June 2004 so on the anniversary date of its introduction it is quite pleasing to see parties on all sides of the House supporting it. 
I want to raise an issue that I think the National Party and ACT also raised in terms of whether individuals who have committed serious sexual and other offences in the past can after a 10-year period without further conviction be a taxi-driver. We are hopeful that the rigid enforcement of this provision will see a real improvement. I notice that in the last few years particularly since the promotional campaign against drink-driving has been run the use of taxis has hugely increased especially at weekends. Security in terms of the type of individual who is allowed to drive taxis is therefore important. 
However from a personal point of view I am disappointed that Labour and United Future did not see fit to support the two amendments I proposed during the Committee stage. I took one issue just to demonstrate how difficult it was and how slow it can be at times to introduce measures to improve safety on roads. For example I learnt that the 1999 Land Transport (Drivers Licensing) Rule requires that a driving instructor who teaches driving for reward hold the I—driving instructor—endorsement licence. The rule also requires the instructor to have the appropriate class of licence for the vehicle that the learner is being taught to drive. That is all very well but unfortunately the offence provision for providing unlicensed driving instruction for reward was omitted from the Land Transport Act 1998. That has been picked up only in this current legislation. For an offence to be omitted for 7 years before it can be put right has saddened me. 
I am also saddened that those two parties did not see fit to accept the two amendments I proposed that would strengthen safety provisions. Currently individuals who give lessons for monetary reward have to hold an I endorsement licence yet the public has no transparent or quick way to learn whether they do; neither is an enforcement agent able to verify readily whether driving instructors do hold an I endorsement licence. My amendment was simply that it should be displayed in the vehicle when driving lessons are being conducted. When we think about it we require taxi-drivers to display their names and identification as a reference point for concerned enforcement agents passengers or in this case students. I was very disappointed that Labour and United Future did not see fit to incorporate that amendment. I hate to think it will take another 7 years for a sensible amendment like that to be accepted. 
I also proposed a further amendment that driving instructors who teach for monetary reward should be limited to New Zealand citizens or permanent resident visa holders. If we are concerned about safety on roads then I think that the people who are qualified to teach for monetary gain should at least be very familiar with New Zealand road conditions and New Zealanders’ driving habits and with legislation and regulations surrounding that. So I was extremely disappointed once again that Labour and United Future did not see fit to endorse that amendment. Just now in the courts a driver’s-licence testing officer has been handed down a sentence of 280 hours’ community service for selling licences to individuals who did not seek to be tested and another driving instructor who offered to sell licences is now facing sentence. 
I am watching with interest to see whether there is one standard of law in New Zealand. I expressed concern that the sentence of 280 hours of community service did not send people a serious enough message about not accepting bribes. I think it is very sad that in New Zealand where we pride ourselves on not tolerating corruption or bribery the sentence does not in my mind reflect the serious nature of the offence. After all these individuals did not pass driving tests and are allowed to drive on New Zealand roads. They are endangering not just their own lives but also those of pedestrians and other drivers on the roads. 
So I hope Land Transport New Zealand will take this issue seriously because history shows that it does not respond effectively and efficiently to complaints about driving instructors. Proper investigation seems to be very slow in coming and there is a reluctance to take action. This morning in my second reading speech I read out the advertisements of driving schools or of individual driving instructors which offer individuals a choice of testing officer a choice of sitting the test on weekends and a choice of the route of their test. I have been assured by the Minister for Transport Safety the Hon Harry Duynhoven that Land Transport New Zealand is undertaking to monitor these types of advertisements. However these advertisements continue to appear in newspapers. The ones I quoted are dated 10 June which is last Friday. 
 Overseas students shared their astonishment at this. They said that in their home countries blatantly fraudulent advertisements like that are not allowed in newspapers and that they are more likely to be displayed on lamp posts etc. I urge the Minister to monitor Land Transport New Zealand to ensure that these types of complaints are taken seriously. I think that in New Zealand we should not tolerate publications that contain advertisements of a fraudulent nature as they indicate that bribery and corruption are taking place. 
Although National supports this legislation I am extremely disappointed that Labour and United Future have not endorsed the two amendments I proposed. I can only live in hope that Land Transport New Zealand will start to take those complaints seriously.