Fitzsimons Jeanette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Fitzsimons Jeanette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:633;Page:5056] 
4.  
JEANETTE FITZSIMONS (Co-Leader—Green) 
 to the  
Minister responsible for Ministerial Services 
: Is she confident that purchase decisions made by her officials in relation to the VIP Transport Service fleet are consistent with the Govt3 programme? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Leader of the House) 
:  
on behalf of the 
 Minister responsible for Ministerial Services 
: The Department of Internal Affairs is now taking into account the Govt3 programme in its purchasing planning and I expect to see this reflected in the make-up of the VIP Transport service fleet over time. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: Why are most of the ministerial chauffeur-driven cars Ford Fairlanes and Ford LTDs that are identified on the Government’s own fuelsaver website as among the worst gas guzzlers in the country using 14.5 litres per 100 kilometres driven? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I think there is only one LTD left in the fleet now although I am not sure of that; they are nearly all Ford Fairlanes. These of course reflect past purchasing practices. Speaking personally—as myself not as the Minister responsible for Ministerial Services—I find the Fords uncomfortable and noisy compared with the average 2-litre Japanese saloon. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: What message will it send to ordinary Kiwis who are buying smaller cars and making a personal commitment to address peak oil and climate change when they learn that Crown cars each produce around 6 tonnes per year of carbon dioxide which is almost three times as much as the most efficient comfortable five-seaters available? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I am advised by the Hon Harry Duynhoven who is an expert in all these sorts of matters that the Ford fleet is doing considerably better in actual performance than it is rated for in the information the member refers to. But I shall take this up with the Prime Minister preferring myself to ride in somewhat smaller cars than a Ford Fairlane. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: Why were all of these gas guzzlers—the worst ones—purchased since the Government announced the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol and since the start of the Govt3programme launched in 2003? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I have not got the numbers. Some of the cars certainly have liquefied petroleum gas and some of the cars in Auckland—it is not so in Wellington I think—are Holdens not Fords. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: Will the Minister commit to ensuring that all future vehicle purchases are in the best 10 percent of those available in New Zealand for fuel efficiency and carbon emissions? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: No. I think probably that the notion of using Toyota Echos as the ministerial fleet probably is not the wisest of moves. But I certainly believe that the ministerial fleet operators can look at more efficient vehicles than the ones that have been bought in some form or another for I think something like 25 years—since we ceased to use Chryslers at some point in the 1970s. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: I seek leave to table two lots of documents. The first is a print-out from the Government’s fuelsaver website giving the fuel efficiency of the Fairlanes. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: I further seek leave to table a set of specifications for a number of vehicles available in New Zealand at the moment which do not include the Toyota Echo and which have fuel efficiencies around 4 5 and 6 litres per 100 kilometres. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.