Bennett David: Road User Charges Bill — First Reading 
Bennett David: Road User Charges Bill — First Reading 
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DAVID BENNETT (National—Hamilton East) 
: 
 We can see that Labour’s transport portfolio is in very safe hands now is it not? Mr Jones has it. He has a great personality he is a good guy to get on with and he will make our job on the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee a lot easier. It is good to have Shane Jones on the committee and we are looking forward to his valuable contribution on this bill and on other bills as we go through the year ahead. 
The Road User Charges Bill is a reflection on what happened when Labour was last in Government. Labour rammed through some changes that led to mass protests. The truck protests that the previous speaker Shane Jones talked about were a direct result of our having a Government that was not listening and did not engage with the industry. This bill is a reflection of the way in which this Government has engaged and talked with the industry. Those in the industry understand the changes that are coming. 
We look forward to hearing the submissions on this bill. No doubt they will be positive and will reflect the positive mood of the industry towards the Government’s programme. Our programme involves road construction like the Waikato Expressway which is central and integral to the growth of New Zealand especially the great city of Hamilton. 
Minister Joyce needs to be congratulated once again in this House on the way in which he has approached the issues. He has worked with the industry to make things successful and to make this bill something that everybody feels they can proceed with. 
One of the key things in this bill is a change to the definition of vehicle weight. Previously road-user charges have been based on the distance travelled and the weight carried which could provide some difficulties for operators as to predicting the actual weight of the vehicle. The bill changes the definition of vehicle weight to a fixed road-user charge weight so that operators do not have to guess in advance how much the weight is. That change will make it a lot simpler and easier for both parties involved. 
Chris Hipkins 
: Run through that again. 
DAVID BENNETT 
: For the benefit of the young member over there who has also joined the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee but is the spokesperson on ACC for the Labour Party I say that it is effectively a move from having to have the— 
Hon Tau Henare 
: When was his last accident? 
DAVID BENNETT 
: Yes when was his last accident? When did he get his driver’s licence? He might have to sit that test before March. He probably does not have a driver’s licence. There was a change to the definition of vehicle weight to make it easier for the parties involved. 
The bill also removes the time licence system and modernises the list of vehicles exempted from road-user charges. That is another important change this bill will focus on. The bill improves the regulatory framework for electronic management systems. Once again this is an example of a Government moving with the times and with the industry. If any members have been in the more modern trucks that we see out on the roads these days they will have seen that electronic time management is very much involved. This bill fits in well with the industry norms with regard to the technology that is involved in trucks these days. 
There will also be a fairer simpler and less costly structure in relation to offences and penalties. This is particularly so for light vehicles because people in that area of the industry have felt that they have been hard-done-by. This change is an attempt to provide a better system for those with light vehicles—who may argue that they have issues with compliance because they are not in a heavy vehicle fleet—in relation to offences and penalties. 
Those four changes are the big parts of the Road User Charges Bill. We look forward to the bill’s referral to the select committee and we appreciate having the support of all the parties in this House in referring it to the select committee. We look forward to hearing submissions on it and to working constructively to bring this legislation through this House in the near future. Thank you.