Kedgley Sue: Road User Charges Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Kedgley Sue: Road User Charges Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
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SUE KEDGLEY (Green) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Deputy Speaker. The Green Party is pleased to join in the consensus of this House in supporting the Road User Charges Amendment Bill. We are particularly pleased about the incentive it provides to use the new technology of electric cars by waiving road-user charges for the next 4 years. Why would we—why would anyone—not support electric cars? They do not have emissions they improve the efficiency of the fleet and they are a tiny step towards energy independence. They are as an earlier speaker said a form of clean green transport. 
But let us get real and remind ourselves that electric cars are not an immediate panacea; they do not provide a great panacea for New Zealand’s serious transport problems. We need only to contemplate that an electric car costs double to quadruple the cost of a conventional car—that is $40000 to $80000. The Ministry of Transport estimates that in 2010—next year—there will be 30 electric cars and by 2020 there may be 30000 electric cars on the road. So we are not talking about a panacea. The chair of the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee David Bennett waxed on as though electric cars were going to solve New Zealand’s transport problems. Let us get real. As Rahui Katene said in an earlier speech because of the cost of these cars particularly in the first few years it will be a revolution for the rich. Unfortunately ordinary New Zealanders will not be able to fork out $40000 to $80000 for an electric car. 
Nevertheless it is good that we are encouraging the use of electric cars. I do not know how many members saw the film  
Who Killed the Electric Car? 
 which was a very interesting film. Many decades ago the technology for the electric car was developed and it started to be rolled out all over America. The film points out that all of the main car companies colluded to kill the electric car because it provided such competition to the diesel-powered car. That was why they killed the electric car. It is great that finally decades later we now support the electric car and some of the main car companies are supporting and getting behind it instead of trying to kill it. That is indeed progress. 
I wonder whether the road-user charge exemption will also extend to electric buses. The Green Party had a huge fight put forward a major petition and was instrumental in saving the electric trolley bus in Wellington. The electric trolley bus was about to disappear from New Zealand. We hope that this incentive for electric cars will also extend to electric buses and that this Government will support the use of electric buses being extended in New Zealand—particularly here in Wellington with the doubling of our fleet. I very much doubt it as this Government has slashed public transport funding and is pouring all the money into roads. Now $7 goes into roads for every $1 that goes into public transport. 
David Bennett was raving on about the train between Hamilton and Auckland which an earlier Labour speaker had suggested the Government should be supporting. He went on about the fact that the train runs on diesel. Well we all know that but I ask why this Government if it is so enthusiastic about electric clean green transport does not look at electrifying the remaining parts of the main trunk line—the line between Hamilton and Auckland and the small part of the line between Otaki and Palmerston North. Why are we not doing that? David Bennett said that this bill showed that the Government is giving direction vision and leadership on clean green transport but I ask what about electrifying the rail line between Hamilton and Auckland and between Otaki and Palmerston North. That would show real leadership. That would show real vision. 
The second issue in this bill that I will mention is who will pay for the maintenance of our roads—the road-user charges. Of course all of this came about because truckies were up in arms about their road-user charges. That brings me to the issue which others have mentioned of the huge juggernaut trucks that are about to be unleashed on our roads. The Government is fast-tracking a proposal that sadly was initiated by the Labour Government which did the pilot to allow 72-feet long 53-tonne trucks on our roads. Has anybody heard of anything so stupid? 
First of all these huge juggernaut trucks will destroy our roads. I am quite sure that the truckies’ road-user charges will not pay for that destruction of the roads. Already questions are being asked about some of the Minister’s estimates of the huge cost of upgrading numerous bridges as well as the roads. 
The second issue is that roads in New Zealand are narrow. They are windy. They are hilly. They are utterly ill-suited to heavy juggernaut trucks. What will happen when heavy juggernaut trucks are unleashed on our roads? We will have more deaths on our roads. Trucks are only 4 percent of our vehicle fleet but they represent 18 percent of the deaths on our roads. We will see more crashes and more serious accidents. Why? Because these huge juggernaut trucks will take longer to brake; it will take much longer for people to pass them; and they will be 6½ feet longer so when they go round corners they will go over the centre line. Already there are numerous corners on the State highway over the Rimutaka hill where trucks go over the centre line. If we drive between Napier and Gisborne we find numerous corners where trucks go over the centre line. They are a hazard to anyone who is trying to go round the corner at the same time. 
New Zealanders are only just becoming aware of this Government’s unleashing of this new proposal for juggernaut trucks. I can tell members that people whom I speak to are horrified. They cannot understand why these trucks are being proposed. They are worried about the destruction that juggernaut trucks will cause to roads and bridges. They know that the road-user charges that the truck industry pays will not begin to pay for the destruction to roads much less pay for the cost of the deaths and the serious injuries that will be caused on our roads. Will the industry pay for the cost of those deaths and serious injuries? I do not think so. 
Let us be real: although this bill is a great step to encourage electric cars for those who can afford them it is not a panacea for the problems of transport in New Zealand. If the Government is serious as David Bennett claims it is about trying to introduce clean green transport into New Zealand why would it not be investing in public transport and in upgrading our rail infrastructure? We can look at what is happening with the trains in Wellington. Because of years of deferred maintenance thousands of commuters have been stuck for hours in trains. Our whole train network in Wellington is falling apart because of deferred maintenance. Surely that should be the priority. That is what the Government should be doing. 
What about electrifying the rail network in Auckland? I am assured by people in Auckland that there is still no Government commitment to fund electric locomotives in Auckland. I ask the Government to please tell us whether its enthusiasm for electric transport extends only to the electric car. What about the electric train and the electric bus? Is the Government committed to electrification of Auckland rail? I ask the next National speaker to confirm when the Government will make a commitment to buy electric locomotives to enable the electrification of the Auckland rail network. Why is this Government slashing public transport funding at the very time when we know that our public transport system is collapsing?