Key John: Railways Bill — First Reading 
Key John: Railways Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:610;Page:7422] 
JOHN KEY (NZ National—Helensville) 
: 
 We are certainly in for interesting times in the rail industry just as this bill is in for interesting times when it goes to the select committee. National will be supporting the Railways Bill going to the select committee but not without a great deal of apprehension. Why are we in for interesting times? Let me point out why that could be the case. 
The Minister said that we are moving away from a vertically integrated operation. He would know all about that because he has his chequebook out to build Track Co. the Government-owned rail network. The only problem is that when the Minister of Finance sat in front of the Finance and Expenditure Committee and was grilled by my good self about how much money it would cost he did not have a clue. He knew it was going to cost a whole lot more than the $100 million he pathetically tried to cough up as a figure when journalists asked him. He knew it would probably be more than $200 million—a figure he begrudgingly told a few more journalists a day or two later. But he does not know whether it will cost $300 million $400 million or $500 million. 
I will tell members the answer. It will be a lot. Do members know why? It is because this Government is not happy with its pork-barrel politics when it comes to just the roads. It is not happy enough dumping Auckland’s roading problems on us and promoting its own roads in its own members’ electorates. Now it wants to do the same thing with rail. 
When this legislation is rammed through by this hopeless Labour Government I can tell members what will happen. Track Co. a Government-owned company is going to be caught by its own legislation the Railways Bill. Does that worry this Government? No it does not. Do members know why? It is because when this Government has problems with its own it retrospectively legislates. It does not worry the Government that Harry Duynhoven happens to have crossed the law because it will hold this Parliament under urgency and it will change the law retrospectively. That is what it will do. So when Track Co. has all sorts of problems with this hopeless legislation that the Government is going to ram through then the Government will retrospectively change the law anyway. That is why it is not worried. 
We are in for interesting times all right. I look at Labour members over there in the Chamber. They are like deer caught in the railcar’s headlights. They do not know what is going on. They do not know who to believe. They are frightened and I can understand that concern and fear. I look into those members’ eyes and see that they are absolutely terrified. They do not know what is coming next. 
I can tell them what is coming next. Lower growth more unemployment and fewer Labour members in the 2005 Parliament are coming next. But let us not worry about that. Of course Labour will buy a few roads from Napier to Gisborne. It holds the Napier and Gisborne electorates. It does not matter that it will cost the average taxpayer of New Zealand hundreds of dollars extra every week. The Government will be propping up some pork-barrel rail politics but let us not worry about that. That will keep the member for Gisborne and the member for Napier in their seats and that is all the Government cares about. That is what is in front of us for the rail network. 
I would like to talk for a moment about the problems taking place concerning the maintenance of the rail network. Government members may not know of a term “CWR”. Let us test them. They are living experts on everything that goes on in New Zealand. I ask Mr Cosgrove what “CWR” stands for. There is a blank look on those members’ faces. It is like the blank cheques they want to write out to run the rail network. They are all awake now but they do not know what “CWR” stands for. It stands for continuous weld rail. 
Members on this side of the House do their research. We do not just ram through hopeless legislation. We do not just hit and hope that it will work. We worry about the poor taxpayers. We know who the buck goes to. We know that our people are out there working day and night up to 80 hours a week day in and day out to pay for the hollow promises being made by that Government. 
CWR—continuous weld rail—means that at every 12 metres there used to be a join in our rail network up and down the country over thousands of kilometres. Labour came up with the bright idea of welding the track all together. That happened under the 1984 Labour Government which said to weld it all together and not to worry about it. Did I hear someone ask whether the track had been stress-tested or whether Labour had thought about what would happen when the heat was up? 
Well the track buckled—just as Labour will when it comes under pressure and it is under a lot of pressure when it comes to the foreshore and seabed. But we should not worry about that. Labour is under so much pressure that it is seeing its majority swept away just as the sands of time are swept away on our beaches across the country. That is what is happening. Anyway the rail network buckled. It buckles at temperatures of 32 to 33 degrees. If someone had asked me about that 12 years ago it would have saved the country hundreds of millions of dollars but no one asked so I did not tell them. The rail network buckled and now hundreds of millions of dollars will have to be spent. That is the kind of work that will take place when Track Co. owns the rail network. That is what will happen to bridges and the track network up and down the country. 
I return for a moment to the Wilson report which is the foundation of this legislation. The Wilson report will redefine who the rail participants are and who therefore under this legislation needs to come up with a safety plan. It is quite an extensive and long list as one would expect from such prescriptive legislation. I am hoping that that wonderful Transport and Industrial Relations Committee chaired by Helen Duncan and attended by my good self the Hon Roger Sowry and Deborah Coddington of the ACT party will be able to whip a bit of sense into this legislation. [ 
Interruption 
] No Clayton Cosgrove is not on that select committee; he is on one of the other ones. 
Under the legislation what is a rail participant? It is an infrastructure owner. No. 1 on the list is Track Co. It is the infrastructure owner. That is right. It is the Government-propped-up-by-votes rail network. That is the long-term name. 
I do not want to digress but I do want to make a comment for a moment about the way in which the Government has put that particular thing in place with Toll Holdings. 
Debate interrupted.