Jones Shane: Land Transport (Road Safety and Other Matters) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Jones Shane: Land Transport (Road Safety and Other Matters) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:671;Page:18081] 
Hon SHANE JONES (Labour) 
: 
 It is 6 minutes past 8. [ 
Interruption 
] I think that is evidence of the nature of that member’s contribution to his caucus but I do not want to go there because the Land Transport (Road Safety and Other Matters) Amendment Bill is a very important bill. I respect the contributions our colleagues have made on that side of the Chamber because we will agree with this bill. 
There are areas that our colleagues on this side of the Chamber are not all that flash on but none of us is prepared to impede the progress of the bill. As one of the members residing in Dunedin said we are probably getting towards the final stage of the Committee’s consideration of the bill. But although he is a very avid contributor to the debate I should say that his ability to influence the conduct of the Minister in relation to the interests of the people of Dunedin in terms of transport industry development or transport industry production is somewhere near zero. I have no doubt that he has sought to use his many skills some of which come across with a somewhat haughty tone. He has sought to use them on the Minister of Transport. I can understand that because he is dealing with a very tough character. Despite his using every technique of tone stature—diminished of course—and other skills picked up and expertise sourced from his earlier forays on the rugby field unfortunately he has not managed to protect one single transport-related job. He has not improved the safety and other matters of the workforce who are exposed to that part of the transport industry otherwise known as the rolling stock of the railway industry. But this is not about the railways per se; this is about safety. I was unfortunately interrupted by Tau Henare’s contribution of intellect which was like an empty vessel—loud but vacant. 
I will continue with my brief account of why Royal assent is very important. Tau Henare may wish to know that in the land of his ancestors Scotland—I personally have not seen my relation Tau in a tartan skirt; I think I have seen him in a piupiu—Royal assent is not applied to legislation of the nature of this bill until a period of 2 or 3 weeks elapses. That enables an agency with a constitutional authority to refer the bill in order to test its legality and lawfulness to the highest court—I presume the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.  
The concept of Royal assent as I have said earlier is traced back to the concept of Curia Regis the Royal Council which comprised bishops people of nobility and people from the boroughs and shires and was popularised by that person otherwise known as the father of parliamentary democracy Simon de Montfort. Those are things that Tau Henare may or may not find of more than a passing relevance.  
This evening we are coming to the final stages of the bill and we are prepared to usher it forward so it can go to the next stage. We support any initiative that improves the prospects of our young people changing their ways. But of course before they change their ways a number of us have to address our own ways. The less said about that the better. In addition we will support the Minister of Transport. We are disappointed that he did not accept our two or three amendments but we will support the Minister because he is largely carrying forward the seeds of a safety policy that originated from the previous Labour Government. He has picked up the Labour policy. Unfortunately he has distorted some of the better elements to do with the alcohol limit and the point at which our young people should be able to drive legally but deep down the underlying momentum has come from the previous Labour Government. We introduced a safety policy and the Minister gave it a new name. The challenge the Minister has to address now is to extend safety into the appropriation of the National Land Transport Fund so that when it is spent it is spent to improve safety. Kia ora.