Macindoe TimHon TIM MACINDOE (National—Hamilton West): Thank you Madam Chair. What a pleasure it is to follow the gentleman with the King Lear delusions—Shane Jones. I'm tempted to quote more of the play too particularly about all the titles that he's given away because he does seem to have this sort of Sir Les Patterson delusion about him. Anyway let me get on with the bill.He spoke about the benefits that this will supposedly bring to people around the country. Well I have to say to that member: not in my patch. I speak as a Waikato member of Parliament for whom this Government—particularly in their transport policies—is a massive disappointment. I was very proud as a candidate in 2008 who was subsequently given the privilege of being elected to this House to represent Hamilton West in November of that year when the then about-to-become Prime Minister John Key announced our commitment to the Waikato Expressway a massive project over 10 stages which was at $2.1 billion one of the biggest roading projects this country has ever seen. And here we are as you will know 10 years later proudly able to say that that is a project that is being delivered on time and within budget. For those who currently use the roads heading north they will be aware of the fact that there are disruptions on the road. No one's going to pretend that for the short term it isn't quite a pain at busy times having to make your way currently through the road works in Te Kauwhata but the point is the project is being delivered. For the sections that are now open whether it's Cambridge—and I had the privilege of being the Associate Minister of Transport last year and declaring a 110 kilometre speed limit for the Cambridge section because it's now one of the safest sections of roading in the country.So when we look at regional fuel taxes surely we should be looking at measures that are going to enhance that type of delivery of infrastructure to New Zealanders. But not a bit of it with this particular measure because not only is this regional fuel tax not going to be of any benefit to anybody in the areas well away from Auckland; what we are seeing is a Government that is moving away from commitments that the previous Government had made that would have delivered the real tangible benefits to the regions that people right around the country were hoping for and were delighted to receive at the last election.That's why today so many of my colleagues have tabled petitions affirming their support for those projects which should be—which should be—the focus of the Government. And what is the really important point when we look at this particular bill?Simeon Brown: The voice of the peopleHon TIM MACINDOE: The really important point—yes it is the voice of the people as the fine member for Pakuranga is pointing out. But the really important point was all of those projects were being delivered or would have been delivered without having to resort to a measure of this type. So instead what you're getting is a Government that is determined to take more money out of the pockets of New Zealanders—and particularly those who travel through the Auckland region but make no mistake they plan to go right around the country with this particular measure—but then failed to deliver. Now let me give you two examples. We also at the last election made a commitment to improving one of the most dangerous sections of road in my region and that is the section that goes from Hamilton across to Tauranga where the intersection at Piarere claims lives and causes massive disruption and often I have seen cars backed up on the road back towards Tauranga—30 or 40 back at busy times. The result is that by the time people finally inch their way to the head of the T-intersection they start taking dangerous risks. So to have taken that project off the table which this Minister and his Government have done while at the same time saying Oh we need more money through regional fuel taxes." seems to me that they have completely lost the plot as to how to deliver the infrastructure that people really need.Now I just want to mention the amendment in my name which in clause 5 is to add an additional paragraph (f) to the definition of "exempt use" in new section 65A the definitions section which talks about exemptions because I think the Government has really failed to acknowledge the important part that areas such as mine play in our nation's agriculture. The Waikato region is the heart of dairy production in New Zealand and so my amendment seeks for there to be an exemption for any use for commercial rural activities. But it might not just be dairy; it's stock trucks right around the country. There are a whole lot of areas of this country that need to be able to deliver their goods."