King Matt; Williams PotoMATT KING (National—Northland): Thank you Madam Assistant Speaker.Jamie Strange: Oh here we go!MATT KING: Here we go: Land Transport Management (Regional Fuel Tax) Amendment Bill. We oppose it—we oppose it. I think that we're going to be talking a lot about tax this term aren't we while we've got a Labour Government. We're going to be debating tax a lot I can see it. I can feel it in my bones. So they're going to apply a petrol and diesel tax not LPG collected at distribution level 10c—the maximum of 10c—a litre and have it over 10 years. Labour: Let's tax this."But what are they going to use it for? They're going to build a tramline from the Auckland CBD through the Prime Minister's electorate as they promised in the by-election—over $2 billion worth. The last thing Aucklanders need is a new fuel tax making it more expensive to get to work school and around the neighbourhood. Fuel tax—it's not as necessary that this Government's just letting Auckland Council off the hook for its runaway costs; current funding shortfalls should be the responsibility of council maybe with some central government help.Auckland Council's spending has increased by $800 million over the last four years. The increase in the wages bill alone over that time is more than this fuel tax can raise in the first year. This Government's solution is to let Auckland Council tax its way out of this problem. Labour has promoted this policy as an Auckland fuel tax but this bill opens up the ability for other regions around the country to introduce fuel taxes by 2021.This legislation will encourage the same tax-and-spend behaviour at the local level as we're seeing from this Government. Unlike other new taxes Labour is proposing there is no standard select committee process not even a working group given the time line that Phil Twyford is working to. That's really surprising given the Government's love of working groups. Parliament is being asked to rush this bill through the House. That's becoming a common theme of this Government. The Ministry—Hon Phil Twyford: Too much rushed legislation and too many working groups!MATT KING: Yes—ha ha! The Ministry of Transport—you can't get it right. You cannot get it right. The Ministry of Transport impact report says a cost-benefit analysis has not been done and that fuel companies have not had time to accurately quantify the costs of collection of this regional fuel tax. The consultation process has been a sham. Under a National Government we were able to live within our means while still investing in major projects such as the Waterview tunnel—three lanes each way not two—rail electrification and the western ring route. Regional taxes impose significant compliance costs to businesses and road users and would result in much higher fuel prices for motorists in some regions.I want to quote chief executive of the Road Transport Forum Ken Shirley. He says and I quote "the imposition of a regional fuel tax is a retrograde step that will hinder rather than help the Government's infrastructure plans. … [They are] a complete nonsense … They are inefficient full of loopholes and exclusions and therefore the impact on motorists is often inequitable and the revenue gathered underwhelming." So lower-income—[Interruption] Fairness and equity—fairness and equity—let's talk about that. Lower-income households will contribute a higher proportion of their income to the tax compared with higher-income households. The New Zealand Automobile Association estimates that the Auckland fuel tax will add an extra annual $135 cost for the average motorist. Darryl Evans from the Māngere Budgeting and Family Support Services chief executive said the city's poorest families will be amongst those hardest hit as the new tax increases petrol prices. [Interruption]OK in New Zealand a regional fuel tax framework was put in place in the major urban areas in the early 1990s and was repealed after price spreading occurred between the regions. For some of these reasons I've outlined—and I've not outlined them all; I'll leave it for other speakers—we oppose this legislation.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Poto Williams): Just before I call the next member I just want to encourage members in the House—we have been a Parliament this term for six months and I would encourage all members not to read speeches."