Brown Peter: Land Transport Management Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Brown Peter: Land Transport Management Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 01 July 2008. Volume:648;Page:17070. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
PETER BROWN (Deputy Leader—NZ First) 
: 
 There are aspects of the Land Transport Management Amendment Bill that New Zealand First is very happy with. I will name those aspects briefly and I think the Committee is well informed on them. The first is the hypothecation of all the excise tax taken on petrol. We think that is long overdue. I think we are the only party that has consistently advocated for that and we have done so since our formation. We are delighted that that will occur. We also like the idea that the excise tax taken on petrol that goes into leisure boats will be used for search and rescue activities in respect of that industry. 
But we do have some concerns. One is the Treaty of Waitangi clause. We object very strongly to having the words “principles of the” in front of the words “Treaty of Waitangi”. Nobody knows what that means. Nobody has been able to tell us what it means. We think those words should be deleted. 
We also have concerns about the regional fuel tax regime as it is stated in the bill. We will support the Minister’s amendments because they improve the regime. We have an amendment in the name of the Rt Hon Winston Peters to add another criterion that will make the whole thing subject to the stabilisation of international fuel prices. We are hopeful that the Committee will see its way to supporting that because it seems logical. 
I know that regional councils want a regional tax but there is a better way of doing it. There is a better way of achieving the same end and that is to hypothecate part of the GST taken on petrol into a regional fund and allow regions to bid for it. I suggest that anything over 20c a litre of GST taken on petrol is windfall GST. A year ago the GST on petrol was 17 point something cents a litre—today it is 23c. So 4c a litre going into a regional fund would solve all the problems. It will not add to motorists’ costs and it will provide a fund that the regions could dip into for want of a better term on a project-by-project basis. I urge the Committee to give serious consideration to that. 
New Zealand First will vote against the provision dealing with the regional fuel tax even with the amendments. I urge the Maori Party to give consideration to our GST idea. I know that my leader the Rt Hon Winston Peters has spoken to the members of the Maori Party and I hope they take that on board. If they vote for this provision just as it is then they are adding cents per litre simply for regions. 
I think it was the Hon Maurice Williamson who outlined that not every area in the country will benefit from the regional fuel tax. The regions will pay it but not every township will benefit. It is better that the money required is taken from the windfall GST. That would be acceptable right across this country. That would be easily done. The other night I spoke informally to the Minister of Revenue the Hon Peter Dunne and in two sentences he indicated how easily it could be done. 
David Bennett 
: What about the 5c-5c split? 
PETER BROWN 
: I say to Mr Bennett that I am serious when I say that I did not make any promises about that whatsoever except that New Zealand First would look at any Supplementary Order Paper provided by the member. But that member is too darn lazy to get off his butt and produce a Supplementary Order Paper. Had he done so we would have given it serious consideration but I am not paid to do his work. I am not paid one cent to do his work. I have watched his performance at the select committee with interest and I see that he is carried by his senior colleague the Hon Maurice Williamson. If it were not for Maurice Williamson on that committee the National Party would be hopeless. I do not agree with everything the Hon Maurice Williamson says but I know he puts in the time and effort required to put his view across. 
To come back to the issue of a regional fuel tax I say that we have an amendment in the name of our leader the Rt Hon Winston Peters to insert a clause to make the regional fuel tax subject to the stabilisation of international fuel prices. That is a common-sense amendment but I make it clear that after that it is very very unlikely that New Zealand First will support the segment of the bill that deals with the regional fuel tax. We say there is a better alternative.