Katene Rahui: Land Transport (Road Safety and Other Matters) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Katene Rahui: Land Transport (Road Safety and Other Matters) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:672;Page:18433] 
RAHUI KATENE (Maori Party—Te Tai Tonga) 
: 
 Like Labour and the Green Party the Maori Party has found that the Land Transport (Road Safety and Other Matters) Amendment Bill is one of those pieces of legislation that present the most dreadful dilemma. As we have done our best to consider each of the implications and consequences of the issues encompassed in the bill we have really had to sweat on our decision. It has not been an easy journey. For the sake of a simple yes or no we have had to consider a mixed bag of options in repealing the Transport Act 1962 and amending the Land Transport Act 1998. The key changes proposed encompassed in the vote today take into account the push to raise the minimum licensing age from 15 to 16 years a zero breath or blood-alcohol concentration for drivers aged 20 years of age and under tougher sanctions for serious or repeat driving offenders possibilities of an alcohol interlock sentence and a zero-alcohol licence and a range of other measures for enforcement and control. 
The question that has challenged us right throughout the process is how our vote can represent and give shape to the range of issues that any of these provisions provoke. Take for example what is undoubtedly the most contentious provision which is raising the minimum licensing age from 15 to 16. Personally I find it laughable that we think 1 year will make a huge difference. All of us entered the debate knowing that young Maori have the highest per capita fatality rate. Just on the youth demographic alone young drivers make up 14.5 percent of New Zealand’s population and 16 percent of all licensed drivers but in 2008 young drivers were involved in around 37 percent of all serious injury crashes. 
When we add in ethnicity to the mix it becomes even more volatile. From a statistical basis Census 2006 shows that Maori make up 19.5 percent of the 15-19 age group yet Maori make up 26 percent of all drivers aged 15-17 who are involved in fatal accidents. Let us be quite clear: these statistics are an indictment on our nation and place an unacceptable burden on the Maori population. There is no debate over whether we have a problem with road safety. There is a difference in whether we have the right solutions to achieve change. The statistics for the years 2006 to 2008 show that of all the drivers involved in fatal crashes the 20-24 and 25-29 year age groups were the most likely to be affected by alcohol or drugs. So should we focus on drug and alcohol treatment rather than on lifting the licensing age? Our views among the caucus were inevitably based on a rural lifestyle where people drive from a young age out of necessity. Country kids often assist with stock moving and droving on the farm. They might also help move stock on the road acting as sentinels to slow down oncoming traffic using either their farm bikes or sport utility vehicles. Given these realities our caucus thought instead that we might support making the restrictive test more difficult and extending the learner licence period from 6 to 12 months. We believe that there are enough regulations in place to moderate driver behaviour such as restricted licences and learner licences. We would also like to see more investment in defensive driving education. A common concern from across our constituencies is that driving education is too costly. We believe that rangatahi should have access to high-quality road safety education. We must improve road safety education for young people and increase access to it.  
During the month leading up to the third reading of the bill each of us in the caucus has looked more keenly around our rural communities to put to the test our theory that rural families will be particularly disadvantaged by raising the driving age. What we saw shocked us. We found that people do not buckle up regardless of age. Adults model behaviour and in too many cases their behaviour leaves a lot to be desired. Unrestrained children are regularly seen being held by an adult in a vehicle with the adult also not restrained. There seems to be a challenge to dare to drive unbuckled. In fact those living in the city can be identified as driving buckled up and locking their cars when they get out of them. Fines do not work; they are just not paid. Referrals are made to the nearest social services driving courses and applications are submitted to Work and Income to pay for the courses but do the fines prevent further offending? It is hard to say. Will amending a by-law—a process requiring a special consultative procedure—or introducing a vehicle be the superior answer?  
As is no doubt self-evident the questions kept coming and with each new issue another set of questions arose. Then just 2 months ago in the  
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health 
 I came across an article by a team of writers including a distinguished researcher from the Ngai Tahu Maori health research unit at Otago University John Broughton. The paper was entitled “Road safety attitudes and opinions of newly licensed Maori car drivers: New Zealand Drivers Study”. The article saw its genesis in the disproportionate impact of motor vehicle traffic crashes amongst Maori. In 2006 the age-standardised motor vehicle traffic crash death rate for Maori was 20 per 100000 of the population compared with 9 per 100000 of the population for non-Maori. 
Not content with the statistics John and his colleagues Anna McDowell Dorothy Begg and Jennie Connor looked into the New Zealand drivers study of some 4000 car drivers to find some answers. To encourage Maori participation Maori community iwi organisations from Napier Hastings Wairoa Gisborne Ruatoria Manukau and Mangere in South Auckland and Dunedin were subcontracted to recruit study participants in their region. The study found that there was a surprising level of support for raising the minimum driver-licensing age and introducing a zero blood-alcohol limit for beginner drivers. That was encouraging from a safety perspective as it came from a cohort of predominantly young drivers who are often thought to oppose such moves. Of particular interest to us was the support indicated for raising the minimum driver-licensing age from 15 to 16 years. The data indicate that this change would have the support of 45 percent of the urban and 33 percent of the rural newly licensed Maori drivers in the study. Another interesting finding was that the lack of knowledge about the penalties for committing any offences would suggest that the penalty regime was having little if any detrimental or deterrent effect.  
Where did we get to then with our vote? We decided that the disproportionate number of injuries and fatalities among the Maori population as a direct result of car accidents required our absolute commitment to getting it right. We want to protect and preserve life—the life of those driving passengers and those who wait at home for a loved one who never returns. We have no choice but to invest in the hope that this package of initiatives will this time make the difference that ultimately will keep people alive particularly our rangatahi. We therefore make this our final vote one of support.