Brown Peter: Customs and Excise (Motor Spirits) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Brown Peter: Customs and Excise (Motor Spirits) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:623;Page:18612] 
PETER BROWN (Deputy Leader—NZ First) 
: 
 Well that was a very interesting contribution made by my colleague John Key. I thought he made some worthwhile points as did the Hon Maurice Williamson. I was a little worried when Maurice Williamson was talking about privatisation. I thought that he was perhaps talking about the same sort of privatisation that Tranz Rail had. Dr Elder of Solid Energy said this morning that he would buy some ships because when the railway lines were looked after by private people they were effectively stuffed. So he said he would go into buying his own shipping fleet. 
We do not need privatisation to put our roads in order. We need a funding stream that is continuous and sustainable—and we have it. In addition to all the fuel levies that go on to the roads the petrol motorist pays something like $600 million a year which goes into the consolidated account. As John Key said that is not justified when there is a $7 billion surplus. There is not a Government member who will stand up and justify that. Government members do not have the fortitude—I think that is the word that I am allowed to use—to stand up and say the 5.6c per litre increase is justified although the Government is taking $600 million from the motorist. So 18.475c per litre plus GST goes into the consolidated account. 
Where will this money go? Maybe the Minister will answer that because it is a serious question. 
Shane Ardern 
: You will never get a serious answer from that Minister. 
PETER BROWN 
: I think that the member might be right but I will try. Will the money that will be regionally distributed be allowed to be spent on the Tauranga Harbour link? 
Shane Ardern 
: A small percentage. 
PETER BROWN 
: Well it is my understanding that not one cent will be able to be spent where the region would like it to be spent on its No. 1 priority. I would suggest that it is the same with the Albany to Puhoi realignment: not one cent of this regional money will be spent on the main priority of that region. I do not know whether Government members are aware of that. Maybe the Minister in the chair Judith Tizard can tell me whether I am factually correct in saying that and if I am correct why in Tauranga—[ 
Interruption 
] I cannot answer so many questions at once. I am concentrating on the Minister in the chair; I can see she is taking my point on board. Will she explain why this money which is supposedly collected on a regional basis cannot be spent on a region’s highest priority? I cannot understand why it would not be the case. 
Equally I cannot understand why the Maori Party is voting for this bill. The many many Maori people in this country love their cars. They are like me; they love their cars. I love cars and I want decent roads to drive on for safety’s sake. I am certain that is the same for Maori and I do not believe that the average Maori member will want to have imposed on him or her— 
Hon Maurice Williamson 
: This member loves ships too. 
PETER BROWN 
: I do love ships also—and there are not very many of them either. 
John Key 
: Not on the roads! 
PETER BROWN 
: No. I want to know why the Maori Party is supporting this bill. 
I also want to know from the United Future members—and I am certain they will take a call—how they can justify to themselves never mind to Parliament adding 5.6c per litre to the price of petrol knowing that Transfund could not spend $240 million— 
Hon Maurice Williamson 
: $230 million. 
PETER BROWN 
: It could not spend that amount of money even if it tried. Yet United Future is saying that it supports an increase in the price of petrol of 5.6c per litre 5c of which is to go into the regional-based petrol tax and 0.6c to GST. In the last year or so United Future has come out and said that it objects to a tax on a tax but it is going to support this increase. There is absolutely no justification for it. There is plenty of money—oodles of it. All that needs to be done is to get the funding stream stabilised.