Dunne Peter: General Debate 
Dunne Peter: General Debate 
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Hon PETER DUNNE (Leader—United Future) 
: 
 Members might be forgiven for thinking that I will comment today on some of the more hilarious comedic events that have been occurring around this building in the last 24 hours but I will not do that for a couple of reasons. Firstly this degenerating comedy is ongoing and I think there are better instalments to come. Secondly it is almost impossible to capture the sense of pathos and hilarity in the retelling of an event; it is much better seen in its original colour. So I will leave it at that and will talk instead about an issue that is far more serious and affects many more New Zealanders than the events of the last 24 hours. 
A couple of weeks ago three young girls were killed in Christchurch in a very senseless and sad road accident—three 15-year-olds. It brought into the public domain again the issue about the age at which young New Zealanders take to driving motor vehicles and whether there needs to be a change. I raised the matter by way of a supplementary question in the House last Thursday and the Minister of Transport in response said that maybe it was time the will of Parliament was tested. When we look at the situation in New Zealand and compare it with other countries we are out of line. In New Zealand one can obtain a learner licence at the age of 15 and the minimum age at which one can obtain a full licence is 16½. That compares with comparable ages of 16 and 18 in France 16½ and 19 in Germany 17 flat in Britain 16 to 18 in most states of the United States 16 to 21 in Victoria 16 to 19 in South Australia and so on. 
 People are simply too young to be driving a motor vehicle particularly the powerful vehicles we have today at the age of 15. The more we delay addressing the issue the more we ensure we will have more tragedies of the type that occurred in Christchurch a week ago last Saturday. More parents suffer more families suffer and more communities suffer. 
We have within our power as a Parliament the ability to address this. I am not suggesting that the carnage on the roads will be resolved simply by changing the age at which people start driving in the same way that the carnage will not be resolved by zero tolerance for alcohol intake. Both measures have their part to play. Neither is a silver bullet but that does not mean— 
Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith 
: Why don’t you ban the use of cellphones? 
Hon PETER DUNNE 
: The member says “cellphones”. He could raise some other issues as well but that does not mean we do not say— 
Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith 
: Where do you stop? 
Hon PETER DUNNE 
: Oh this is a fascinating insight from the National Party. The member asks: “Where do you stop?” as if road safety is something we can trade away. I tell Dr Lockwood Smith that it does not mean that we do not start and we do not make an attempt to do something better. 
I say to the House today that I will have a go at doing something better. I will seek leave tomorrow to table a Land Transport (Driver Licensing) Amendment Bill that would see the minimum age at which a learner licence could be obtained raised to 16. The consequent flow-on effect of that with a change to the period in which one can hold a probationary licence would mean that a full licence would not be obtainable until the age of 18. 
I say to the House and to all those members who over the last week or so as this issue has been around have said to me that we need to do something that I will give the House the opportunity tomorrow to test its resolve. It will be very interesting to see whether those who wax eloquent about the need for action deny me the leave I will seek tomorrow because that would be a signal to the people of New Zealand that those members do not really care. 
I am tired of hearing people say that we need to have a discussion and a debate about these issues. We need to do something but then we run for cover whenever the opportunity to put the issue on the agenda and to take some action is provided. 
Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith 
: Why penalise all the good 15-year-olds who are responsible? 
Hon PETER DUNNE 
: I say to the parents who have lost their young people in these accidents that these bleating comments about why we are penalising this group or that group or why we are not doing something about cellphones or something else are an insult to the memory of the children whom they have lost. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: Oh rubbish! 
Hon PETER DUNNE 
: “Oh rubbish!” says the member for Nelson. In other words this callous indifference to the tragedy that is occurring means that nothing is being done. The member’s benchmate actually agrees with me. The member’s benchmate Mr Williamson is on record as saying that he wanted to lift the driving age when he was the Minister of Transport but could not get the support of his colleagues. I suspect that those same negative forces will be at play tomorrow. As a consequence we will see more tragedy more suffering and sadly more calls for action. When that comes home to roost then I want this House to remember who is responsible for the inaction and the tragedies and to take them to account.