Faafoi Kris: Land Transport (Road Safety and Other Matters) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Faafoi Kris: Land Transport (Road Safety and Other Matters) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:671;Page:18059] 
KRIS FAAFOI (Labour—Mana) 
: 
 I will refer to schedule 2 of the Land Transport (Road Safety and Other Matters) Amendment Bill and the zero alcohol licence provisions. The tack I am about to take may raise the hackles of my colleagues on this side of the Chamber and a lot of the people out there who are watching tonight but I have to agree with something Tau Henare said in the Committee today. 
Hon Member 
: Oh my goodness! 
KRIS FAAFOI 
: It has raised hackles. In an earlier contribution during the debate on Part 1 of the bill—funnily enough in an interjection during Kelvin Davis’ speech—Mr Henare said: “If you don’t want to die don’t drink and drive.” He is 100 percent right. But unfortunately— 
Hon Tau Henare 
: Oh here comes the “but”. 
KRIS FAAFOI 
: Of course there is a “but”; I am talking about Mr Henare. Unfortunately he is part of a Government that supports a bill without provisions to take serious action and send a signal to the New Zealand public that they should do what Mr Henare said. The Government and the Minister of Transport have failed to put serious provisions in the bill for lowering the blood-alcohol content limit for drivers. 
As I said earlier Mr Henare made that interjection during what was a personal story for Kelvin Davis. I have heard from Michael Woodhouse as well today; I have come to know him a bit better and I have respect for his views on the Health Committee. He wants evidence-based arguments. I am not an expert on the exact figures and research but I have a personal story on this issue like Kelvin Davis did. My name is Kristopher John Faafoi. Just before I was born a very close family friend John Sione was taken out by a drunk driver. Mr Bridges might think that is funny but it is not funny at all. He was a very close family friend and he was taken out. I never met him but I bear his name. 
Thirty-five years ago drink-driving was a problem. With this bill the Committee has an opportunity to take serious action on drink-driving. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: So we didn’t do it 10 years ago. 
KRIS FAAFOI 
: My argument in response to Mr Henare’s comment as he interjects again is that I do not want a history lesson. I am here as one of the newest members of the Committee and I want to make sure we are in the now and that in the future people like me can make sure—[ 
Interruption 
] Yes it is a sad tale. I say with the utmost respect that Mr Henare is 100 percent right but I am disappointed that the bill does not include provisions to seriously tackle the drink-driving problem in New Zealand. 
I have dealt with that cop-out: the bill not dealing with the problem. Let me deal with the minimum driving age and the cutting of corners on that issue. As I said before Michael Woodhouse has raised some interesting issues on the minimum driving age argument. He wants to ensure we have an evidence-based approach. I see a contradiction here. With the minimum driving age the evidence is that when someone is young swift action will be taken against him or her. But with the drink-driving prevention provisions if someone is intoxicated and does not think he or she can drive we will wait a couple of years figure out what is actually going on and then take action. I do not think that is right. 
Earlier Paul Quinn told members to look at the polls. I will tell the Committee what the polls say: 67 percent of respondents to a Television New Zealand poll said Parliament should take action to lower the blood-alcohol limit; one poll result from Research New Zealand went from 50 percent to 63 percent; and UMR Research had 70 percent of Kiwis wanting to ensure that Parliament lowered the blood-alcohol limit for drivers. 
I will go back to the minimum driving age and the impact it will have on rural communities in particular. In my electorate areas such as Paekakariki and Pauatahanui have large rural communities. They are concerned about what this change will mean for their young ones and the opportunities for social community and sporting events that are open to them. We should take that concern seriously. It is an argument that has been floating around for a long time. When I was a journalist I did a story on a mother and daughter in Kaiapoi in Clayton Cosgrove’s electorate of Waimakariri who were concerned because the daughter potentially would not be able to get a licence to drive the 25 minutes to school. We also heard earlier from David Shearer around the Southland District Council.