Blue Jackie: Road User Charges Bill — First Reading 
Blue Jackie: Road User Charges Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:670;Page:16783] 
Dr JACKIE BLUE (National) 
: 
 I am pleased to be speaking to the first reading of the Road User Charges Bill. The purpose of this bill is to update the road-user charges or RUC system. The road-user charges system is well over 30 years old and it is quite timely that it has undergone review. The current situation is that all users of New Zealand roads contribute towards the upkeep of the roads. Most road users pay levies in the price of their fuel but others such as the users of diesel-powered vehicles pay through road-user charges. All the revenue that is collected from road-user charges goes into the National Land Transport Fund. The road-user charges are administered by the New Zealand Transport Agency or NZTA and enforced by the New Zealand Police. 
This bill is the outcome of the recommendations of the  
Independent Review of the New Zealand Road User Charging System 
. This independent review group was appointed in August 2008 to review New Zealand’s road-user charges system in response to concerns that had been raised by the road transport industry following road-user charge increases in July 2008. The review considered the Ministry of Transport’s cost-allocation model between road users and whether the road-user charges system should be replaced by alternative revenue collection methods. It was quite a comprehensive review. 
In total 33 recommendations were made covering all aspects of the road-user charges system. After due consideration the Government has accepted the recommendation that the road-user charges system be retained simplified and modernised rather than replaced with a diesel tax which would impose costs on non-transport users. When the recommendations were released the Minister announced that it was intended there be an Internet-based road-user charges purchase system which would reduce compliance costs and the risk of evasion. That has certainly happened in this bill; there are provisions for that and in this day and age that is quite a timely move. It is long overdue but we must face it that over 30 years ago when the original bill became law the Internet did not exist. So here and now we can make the appropriate changes. 
In keeping with the Government’s focus on promoting a road-user charges system that is fair balanced and well-managed just a week prior to the release of the recommendation a law was passed requiring that 6 weeks’ notice of road-user charges increases should be given so transport operators could plan and budget accordingly. That has happened and that move has been well received. 
The main provisions of this bill include a change in the definition of vehicle weight removal of the time licence system modernisation of the list of vehicles exempt from road-user charges an improved regulatory framework for electronic management systems and a fairer simpler and less costly structure in relation to offences and penalties particularly for light vehicles. This bill is all about bringing the road-user charges system into modern-day practices. It is about reducing compliance costs for transport operators and ultimately reducing transport costs for our businesses and exporters which in turn will make it easier for this sector to go about its business. That can only be a good thing for the economy. The changes will make the system easier to understand and fairer for those who pay road-user charges. I certainly commend this bill to the House. Thank you.