Brown Simeon; Kuriger BarbaraThird ReadingHon SIMEON BROWN (Minister of Transport): I move That the Land Transport (Clean Vehicle Standard) Amendment Bill be now read a third time. This bill does two things. It does two things to amend the Land Transport Act to ensure that the Government is able to amend the clean vehicle standard by regulations rather than for it to be set in legislation. Secondly it allows for the cost recovery of the clean vehicle standard process rather than for that cost to be put across all New Zealand taxpayers. This Government is committed to retaining a clean car standard. We see that as playing an important role in ensuring that New Zealand gets the mix of vehicles that New Zealanders rely on. Affordable vehicles cleaner vehicles and the mix of the types of vehicles which can help New Zealanders with their day-to-day lives including those who are on our farms in our cities and in our small towns. We want to ensure New Zealanders have that mix of vehicles at an affordable and increasingly sustainable approach.However the last Government when putting in place the clean vehicle standard effectively legislated what that standard should be right out to the end of 2027. And what this bill does is it says instead of having it legislated it allows that those standards can be amended by regulation just as they are post-2027 those can already be amended or put in place by regulation. And the reason for doing that is because the law actually requires a review of that standard to happen. So it legislated a standard and then it legislated a review. But after doing a review which it required me as the Minister of Transport to start prior to 30 June 2024 it did not have any ability for the standard to actually be amended.And the reality is that if the standard is kept as it currently stands we're going to get to a point where our standard becomes more and more stringent to a point where New Zealand as a car market—people importing vehicles and consumers—will either have to pay more and more for those vehicles because there isn't the global supply for them or ultimately they won't have the mix of vehicles that they rely on. So we're reviewing it to ensure we're getting the balance right in regards to affordability the emissions reduction and also making sure that New Zealanders can get the mix of vehicles that they need.So that review is under way and decision post - this legislation being made will allow decisions to be made in regards to what those standards should be going forward. But this bill also ensures an appropriate cost recovery mechanism is put in place which is that for the clean vehicle standard operation currently there's $11.8 million that's being given per year to the New Zealand Transport Agency to operate an IT system which by the way is then used by people who import vehicles. Well in every other aspect of importing vehicles there are cost recovery methods put in place to ensure that the systems are user pays and those costs are recovered.So this bill enables regulations to be set for those costs to be recovered. But the interesting thing is despite the last Government allocating $11.8 million each year to the standard it was actually only costing around $6.5 million to run. And it just shows how the last Government actually operated. They'd allocate almost twice as much—almost twice as much just appropriate it which is what they used to do; the magic money tree—just appropriate it. And then of course what's the incentive? Oh let's just spend it." Well actually on this side of the House we actually think that this is taxpayers' money and it should be treated far more carefully. And so that's what this bill will do.So this bill makes two I think very sensible changes. I thank members from across the House for their engagement in the committee of the whole House stage. The bill is going forward without amendment because ultimately the decisions made by the Government allow that review to take place any changes to happen and that cost recovery method to be put in place. We stand by this bill and we commend it to the House.DEPUTY SPEAKER: The question is that the motion be agreed to."