Connell Brian: Land Transport (Street and Illegal Drag Racing) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Connell Brian: Land Transport (Street and Illegal Drag Racing) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:607;Page:4563] 
BRIAN CONNELL (NZ National—Rakaia) 
: 
 I have to say that I am scratching my head after having listened to members of the Green Party and the ACT party speak in total accord. It must be something of a red-letter day. I am taken back a little bit and yes Mr Prebble should hang his head. 
I am pleased to say that I was a member of the Law and Order Committee which helped to draft this legislation. We took a unified approach to it. It is only fair and reasonable that I acknowledge the contribution made by Clayton Cosgrove in bringing this bill to the House in the first instance. The bill is a good initiative and deals with an issue that is causing great consternation across the country. It is a good example of an issue that has been elevated to a governance issue and for once we have been able to leave the politics behind. The bill has been substantially rewritten and I think it is the better for that. 
I also need to acknowledge my colleague Mr Brownlee. It was through his efforts that the bill got the full force of the officials by being put on the Order Paper and it would be inappropriate if we did not recognise that. 
I also note that this legislation is based in significant part on the New South Wales legislation. Although I acknowledge that that is its genesis it would have been inappropriate just to pick up that model and try to impose it on this country. The work done by the select committee in that regard has been first class. 
The bill is known around the countryside as the boy racer legislation and Deborah Coddington did make the point that that is a little bit of a misnomer because 25 percent of supposed boy racers are actually female. I will say that this activity is not just about illegal racing. It is about curtailing activities that have a dangerous and social impact on law-abiding citizens. Boy racers congregate in large numbers to bait police destroy property cause traffic congestion harass members of the public and destroy people’s quality of life by road congestion and excessive noise. I have to say to the ACT party that I thought it was the party for zero tolerance. Maybe it is appropriate that its members get their heads together and have a little chat about it because it is probably not too late for them to reconsider and take another call particularly in the Committee stage. 
I note that the legislation amends the Land Transport Act and some submitters who came to the select committee thought that was not necessary. I put on record that they were in the minority by a very large measure. Some of the submitters who did not think that was necessary thought that the current Act contained prohibitions against dangerous driving and reckless operation of a motor vehicle. However that Act is ineffective because it was not drafted with empowerment powers for street racing offences. Current penalties are not adequate deterrents and there are practical enforcement difficulties. By example I use identification of the driver. One might be able to take a licensed driver off the road and give him or her a penalty but that does not go to the root cause of the problem and that is the car. Unless the vehicle can be taken off the road we are not sending any sort of message to those louts whatsoever. 
In the end the select committee decided to use the word “Unauthorised” in the bill’s title. We wanted to send a very clear message to submitters that we were determined to deal with the boy racer problem because it is an issue that is concerning the public of New Zealand in very large measure. This is a classic example where the rights of the community should be put before the rights of the individual. 
Having said that I do want to take a little bit of a swipe at the Government. I am sorry but I have to be true to form. The bill was reported back to the House in November 2002. The Government made big play of the fact that it would rush this bill through the House in urgency. When I sought leave of the House for this legislation to be put up the Order Paper I got a resounding no. Dr Cullen in particular was the person who objected the loudest. What he was saying to me this House and to the people of this country was that he had an arrogant disregard for the tens of thousands of New Zealanders who are concerned about the activities of boy racers because they are destroying their quality of life. I have been petitioned in droves by constituents in Rakaia asking me to ask the Government to do something about this with urgency and I have had to say to them— 
Hon Annette King 
: You got urgency. 
BRIAN CONNELL 
: We have urgency now! I have had to say to them that yes the legislation has been amended by the select committee that it is in a form that I know members of the House will support and that all we now need to do is to get it back before the House and get it passed. To be fair to Clayton Cosgrove I think he in essence actually said that behind closed doors. Maybe we should give Dr Cullen some credit. Maybe that is why the legislation is now being heard under urgency. If that is the case I am glad that Dr Cullen has woken up and smelt the coffee. I suppose we should really be thankful for small mercies. It is just a pity that this legislation did not come soon enough to save the life of a boy racer in Christchurch City last weekend. It is a pity that someone had to die. 
Let us be clear about the activities that these people engage in. They have no real intention whatsoever to be law-abiding citizens. They congregate in large numbers to bait the police and members of the public. Their idea of fun is getting together in large numbers blocking off a road and posting scouts at both ends of the road. When the police come along to do their job the boy racers are tipped off by telephone and disappear. If the police could stay at both ends of the road apprehend people as they were coming by and impound their cars they would be able to enforce this law. The boy racers damage roads and damage buildings with graffiti— 
Ron Mark 
: We need a tank! 
BRIAN CONNELL 
: Yes we need tanks. Graffiti is one of the by-products of this type of activity. The spectators are generally unruly; they are the people who drink and engage in lots of violent activities. I am looking across at the Greens and I would not be surprised if they were lining up as well. Boom boxes are another issue that cause people to live under great distress. 
Hon Richard Prebble 
: What? 
BRIAN CONNELL 
: Mr Prebble is wondering what boom boxes are. They are the instruments that these louts use to make a lot of noise. These instruments keep young children mums and dads awake at night so they cannot enjoy a good quality of life. They have got to such a point of frustration that they are saying they will take the law into their own hands. Is it not a sad day for this country when we are encouraging law-abiding citizens to take the law into their own hands just so they can protect their property and their families from these louts? The civil libertarians and maybe the ACT party which I am still scratching my head over are saying that we are taking a sledgehammer to crush a nut. If that is the case then I say “Tough!” because that is what we need to do. I am sick and tired of these louts having their rights put ahead of those of the majority of law-abiding citizens in this country. 
Councils have bent over backwards to try to accommodate these people. Councils have provided off-road racing facilities but only about 20 percent of these people are interested in them. Unless they have an audience unless they can disturb people and unless they can bait the police they are not interested in using those facilities. 
I conclude by saying that I strongly support this legislation and look forward to discussing it in more detail during the Committee stage.