Russell DeborahDr DEBORAH RUSSELL (Labour—New Lynn): I'm delighted to have this opportunity to speak really to some of the misunderstandings that have arisen that have been talked about in the course of this debate on the Land Transport Management (Regional Fuel Tax) Amendment Bill. I thought I'd talk to some of the issues that have been raised. I think Mr Jami-Lee Ross early on said that in fact there hadn't been enough time to debate this bill; it was a truncated process that really people hadn't had time to have their say on. But frankly there were 520 submissions on it. I'd say that was an awful lot of people having their say. So there was plenty of time for people to put in submissions and have their say on this bill. So I just think the evidence contradicts Mr Jami-Lee Ross there.Then we had some discussion as to whether or not there was much support for the tax. Now not many opinion polls do support increased taxes; that's just one of those things and as a Parliament we have to take a mature attitude and try to think through the virtues in themselves. But I would point out to the members on the Opposition benches the Colmar Brunton poll released on 18 April which showed 52 percent support for the regional fuel tax in Auckland. I'm going to sell it even further: it stacks up with a number of things that Aucklanders have supported recently because they understand the critical needs of their city. There is now going to be a targeted rate in Auckland to fix up our damaged waterways and people are happy to pay that targeted rate. There is now going to be an environmental targeted rate in Auckland because people are deeply worried about our environmental issues and they are happy to pay an extra targeted tax in order to fix those problems. Likewise there is support in Auckland for this regional fuel tax because Aucklanders understand the problems. They understand the need to take action. They know it will hurt but they are prepared to pay the extra money in order to fix the extraordinary congestion in their city.And it is extraordinary congestion. Aucklanders spend so much time stuck on the roads. They spend so much time stuck in traffic. We now have issues where tradies won't take jobs or won't allow deliveries after 3 o'clock because they cannot guarantee that the deliveries will get to them. We now have issues where tradies won't take jobs across the city because the travel takes just too much time. So when the Opposition talk about the cost of business why are they not thinking about the extraordinary costs that congestion imposes on business and the need we have to do something about it not in some never-never land like the plans that they proposed when they were in Government but now—right now? We need to take action now on Auckland transport.Then there were the concerns—and this is an extraordinary thing to hear from the Opposition—that a regional fuel tax would impose the most on the poor. It's a shame we didn't hear those claims when GST was increased from 12.5 percent to 15 percent on everything that people buy not just fuel taxes. Suddenly—suddenly—they have started this concern right now. But I want to say something here: congestion impacts hardest on the poor. Lack of public transport impacts hardest on the poor. I want to point you to what one Auckland councillor said when Auckland councillors debated this themselves and went through an extraordinary debate on it. This is an Auckland city councillor who represents people in Ōtāhuhu who represents some of the poorest people in our city. Councillor Josephine Bartley said as she voted in favour of this regional fuel tax—A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they will never sit under."We have to plan for the future and a good society doesn't plan just for today it doesn't plan just for next week or next year; it plans for the long-term future and this is what this Auckland regional fuel tax will assist in doing. And that is why I support this regional fuel tax and I ask the Opposition to consider it seriously instead of just standing up with mindless braying cackling opposition to it. There is a real need for this fuel tax and on this side of the House we are prepared to take the hard action. We are prepared to go and walk the talk and make sure that we fund a decent transport system in Auckland. That is why I support this regional fuel tax."