Burton Mark: Railways Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee Third Reading 
Burton Mark: Railways Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:625;Page:19897] 
Hon MARK BURTON (Minister of Defence) 
 on behalf of the 
 Minister of Transport 
: I move  
That the Railways Bill be now read a second time 
. Last year the Government rescued the rail network from its disastrous privatisation and pledged to invest $200 million in it. Crown ownership of the national rail network will help to ensure that the rail system is maintained and developed as a vital part of New Zealand’s transport infrastructure. In addition the Government’s funding assistance for passenger rail services in Auckland and Wellington—rolling stock stations and track—will have extra investment. The aim is to encourage patronage so that access is improved and road congestion and environmental impacts are reduced. A national rail strategy is currently being developed. It is intended to provide a framework for the development of rail in New Zealand. Its focus will primarily be on improving rail freight and urban passenger transport in order to support economic growth and to contribute to the well-being of individuals and their communities. 
This bill is aimed at promoting the safe operation of the rail industry. It recognises the changes in rail ownership and operational activities and reflects the strong commitment made by the Government to recognise the recommendations made in the Ministerial Inquiry into Tranz Rail Occupational Safety and Heath 2000 also known as the Wilson report. The bill introduces a more integrated and robust regime that is based squarely on safety risk management principles. Under the current legislation rail operators are accountable for safety through their approved safety management systems. There are now a growing number of participants in the rail sector whose activities are fundamental to the safe delivery of a rail service but who will not be covered by a safety management system. The bill extends the licensing regime to cover a greater proportion of those that are termed “rail participants” under this legislation. It requires a clear and visible chain of responsibility between licence holders and subsidiary organisations. 
The bill takes a co-regulatory approach to safety. Responsibility for safety is placed squarely on the separate licence holders and their associated rail participants to provide assurance to the Government that the safety policies and operational systems they have in place mean that they are operating safely and that they will continue to do so. The bill consolidates existing legislation relating to rail safety and expands on that legislation to address a number of deficiencies in the current rail safety legislative framework. 
The bill introduces a wider-ranging process of safety assessment to improve safety assurance. It also broadens the range of enforcement powers available to enforce safety. Currently rail operators submit a safety management system to be approved by Land Transport New Zealand. The Wilson and Halliburton reports criticised Tranz Rail’s safety management system as being “voluminous and unwieldy”. The bill addresses this issue by splitting the safety management system into a high-level safety case and a separate but linked safety system. The safety case contains overarching safety risk management documentation that is designed to ensure that the rail participant can properly assess control and manage its safety risk and provide safety assurance to the director of Land Transport New Zealand. The safety system is a documented record of the detailed management and operational policies and practices that relate to the safe conduct of all business activities. 
The Transport and Industrial Relations Committee has examined the bill thoroughly and has recommended that it be passed with amendments. I support the amendments—as does the Minister—that are proposed by the committee as they strengthen the bill. The committee has done a commendable job. Supplementary Order Paper 353 recognises the new authority Land Transport New Zealand and ensures the objectives of the New Zealand Transport Strategy are reflected in the rule-making provisions. The Supplementary Order Paper also addresses level crossing safety following recommendations from the coroner concerning a fatality at the Silverstream pedestrian level crossing. These provisions ensure that all parties involved in the operation or management of the crossing will agree in writing on the warning devices to be installed and operated. 
The relationship between the bill and the Health and Safety in Employment Act is now a great deal clearer. The role of safety manager with its high level of personal responsibility has been removed. This is consistent with the principle that safety is everyone’s responsibility. The committee has refined the hierarchy of interventions the director may take where action is deemed necessary to ensure safe rail operations. Each intervention is more appropriately targeted to the safety risk involved. To clarify safety roles in the new rail environment a mandatory obligation has been introduced for rail operators and their personnel to obey all instructions from the network controller. The safety case—the key risk management documentation—is now more comprehensive. New aspects require policies to ensure that rail personnel are fit for duty and in particular that they are not impaired by drugs or alcohol. There also needs to be a policy for consultation with unions and other representatives of rail personnel in the development of safety systems that affect rail personnel. 
The revised Railways Bill will assist in fulfilling the Government’s commitment to rail by improving rail safety performance. It reinforces the rail safety framework and supports other rail initiatives such as the repurchase of the rail network the investment in rail infrastructure and the development of a national rail strategy. I commend the Railways Bill to the House.