Fitzsimons Jeanette: Customs and Excise (Motor Spirits) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Fitzsimons Jeanette: Customs and Excise (Motor Spirits) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
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JEANETTE FITZSIMONS (Co-Leader—Green) 
: 
 I thank my colleague Richard Prebble for allowing me to swap places on the speaking list so that I can get to another appointment. I appreciate it especially as what I am about to say is probably rather different from what he is about to say. 
The Greens support this bill because it will help us move to a transport system that uses less fuel in order to get us to where we are going. There are two very important reasons why we need to do that. One is the question of climate change. We have been celebrating the coming into force today of the Kyoto Protocol but if we are going to stop the climate change that threatens our agriculture our economies our health and our way of life it is absolutely vital that we start burning less fossil fuel—and transport is one of the chief offenders. The other reason is that we are now getting quite close to the time when it will not be possible to meet the rising demand for oil simply by pumping more out of the oilfields. We are getting close to what is known as peak oil. When that happens prices will rise quite alarmingly and availability will steadily reduce. 
This bill helps to reduce energy use in transport in two ways. Firstly it allows more money to be raised to invest in the infrastructure we urgently need in order to adapt to rising oil prices and by that I mean the rail systems the public transport systems the travel-demand management systems and the cycling facilities which will be funded along with some roading improvements. Secondly the petrol levy rise signals the long-term oil price rise in time for people to start adapting to it in their own lives. As petrol starts to cost more people will start to see the reason for making sure that the next car they buy can do a minimum of 50 miles to the gallon the reason for making sure that the next time they move house they try to live closer to their work and the reason for trying to make sure that they can do short trips on a bicycle or on foot. 
Most people still have not caught on to the fact that the oil price rises we have seen over the last year are not temporary and are not the result of the war in Iraq. Although a number of short-term fluctuations are caused by those supply features the long-term trend is that oil prices are going steadily up. New Zealand needs to prepare for that. We need to prepare for it with more efficient vehicles. If we had vehicle standards we could get twice as much out of every litre of fuel as we do now. We need to prepare for it with more public transport more rail and by becoming less dependent on long-distance overseas trade for low-value commodities. 
I am not convinced that the diesel increase that is foreshadowed in the bill but will happen through Order in Council should be only for vehicles under 5 tonnes. I am not convinced that the heavy vehicles are actually paying their full way in terms of paying for roads given the very much greater damage they do because of their axle weight. We cannot afford to feather-bed the trucking industry if we want a fair level playing field for rail which is more energy efficient. 
I am concerned that the decision of the Minister and the select committee to defer the coming into effect of this increase means that it may never happen. We are not being given any particular oil price at which the Minister feels he will be able to trigger the coming into force of this rise. The futures market tells us that the price of oil will not drop below $40 again. Treasury places a lot of faith in the futures market when it does its oil price forecasting. We are still however operating under a Government Budget that has an assumption that by now oil prices would be back down to $19 a barrel and will stay there indefinitely. Prices will of course go much higher than $40 a barrel and if the high New Zealand dollar starts to drop we will feel that increase as a double whammy. 
I note that the new money raised in this way must still be allocated under the National Land Transport Programme and must be spent in accordance with the Land Transport Management Act. I think that this has escaped the notice of a number of regional land transport committees and local councils many of whom have not yet got to grips with the new Act. It is not just a roading binge that will be accelerated by this extra 5c a litre but a balanced range of transport options—road rail public transport cycling walking and travel-demand management. If those bodies put forward proposals only for roads they may find that the funding does not actually reach their bank accounts. 
I particularly note that the proposals of the Hawke’s Bay Regional Land Transport Committee—the Minister lives in that region and he might like to look into this—for spending the new funding are 100 percent for new roads for trucks particularly for getting freight to the port. It makes no rail public transport or demand management proposals and it makes no proposals to consult with the community. I hope the Minister will meet with his regional council staff and tell them to read the Act or they might get a nasty surprise and find that the funding will not follow their grand plans. 
Finally I return to the question of climate change as this is the day on which we are celebrating the Kyoto Protocol. I particularly commend the four Greenpeace activists who are on top of the Marsden B power station at the moment with a big banner that states: “Save the climate—stop coal”. This is a proposal that will massively increase our greenhouse emissions. The Marsden B power station is a very old inefficient dirty station that will convert coal very very inefficiently into electricity. It will shower the people of Whangarei with sulphur dioxide dioxins and fine particulates that cause cancer and it will dump mercury and other heavy toxic metals into the harbour. It will import millions of tonnes of coal from Indonesia and stockpile it near the wharf in a leaky stockpile. The local residents are appalled at this proposal and I commend the young people who have got themselves on top of the building. The company refuses to go down and meet them so it looks as if they might be there for quite a while. I say good on them.