Laban Luamanuvao Winnie: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
Laban Luamanuvao Winnie: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
[Volume:606;Page:3631] 
1. LUAMANUVAO WINNIE LABAN (NZ Labour—Mana) 
 to the  
Minister of Transport 
: What reports has he received on the road toll for 2002? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN (Minister of Transport) 
: 
 The Land Transport Safety Authority has advised that last year’s road toll of 404 was the lowest in 40 years. This is despite the large increase in vehicle numbers over that time. The mixture of education enforcement and engineering measures introduced are paying off. However we must continue to make progress if we are to reach the goal of no more than 300 fatalities by 2010. 
Luamanuvao Winnie Laban 
: What other reports has he seen on road safety issues? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: I have seen a report from Mr Roger Sowry saying that National would build a multilane highway between Auckland and Wellington to reduce traffic problems. This is estimated to cost $5.5 billion. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The Minister has no responsibility for that.  
Hon Roger Sowry 
: Does he agree with Land Transport Safety Authority director David Wright that the greatest scope for future reductions in the road toll lies in engineering work such as providing more passing lanes removing power poles and designing safer new roads and intersections; if so does he then agree that the greatest impediment to carrying out that work is his inability to obtain the funding necessary? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: Just for that member’s information in the last year that he was in the Government funding was $563 million—compared with $603 million. 
John Carter 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Again the Minister was referring to something for which he has no responsibility. He should answer the question rather than allude to stuff that has happened in the past. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: No on this occasion the Minister was perfectly in order. He was comparing figures and he is perfectly entitled to do that. I thought the Minister had finished his answer. 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: Yes Mr Speaker— 
Rodney Hide 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I accept your point with regard to the figures but the question was whether he agreed with the statements. The Minister was showing no indication of even getting to that question. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The Minister had given only one sentence. He wants to continue and I will hear him out. 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: The Land Transport Safety Authority director has made a number of good and useful comments. Of course engineering is important and it will require funding. The Government does not agree with spending $5.5 billion on a superhighway between Auckland and Wellington. It would mean that no more projects would be funded for 20 years. Plus they want to cut petrol taxes by 4c! The ghost of Bill Birch and “think big” is alive and well in the National Party caucus.  
Hon Roger Sowry 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. At the beginning of this year’s parliamentary session I think we should clear up whether you intend to interrupt Ministers or whether you want the Opposition to interrupt them through points of order. We are happy to do that but where a Minister is clearly breaching the rules we would also be more than happy if you as Speaker would take the initiative to sit the Minister down. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I thank the member for his very valuable advice. I shall interrupt when I consider it necessary to do so. 
Peter Brown 
: If the fatality and accident rates on the roads continue to go down can we expect the Minister to make strong recommendations to his colleagues to reduce the accident compensation charges on motorists instead of continually increasing them? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: That is a good question. The perverse problem we have at the moment is that fatalities are going down but as cars and road engineering become safer the number of injuries rises. That is the reason that accident compensation levies have had to increase. 
Deborah Coddington 
: My question for the Minister follows on from that question. Was the startling reduction in motor vehicle deaths and injuries passed on to the Minister for ACC and other relevant Ministers before they increased fuel taxes in March 2002 motor vehicle registration taxes in July 2002 and drivers’ licence fees for 10-year licences; if not why not? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: The Government had a range of information before it considered the 4c petrol tax rise. But that 4c petrol tax rise has made a real dent in some of the backlog of work that was not able to proceed under the previous National Government.  
Hon David Carter 
: Whose? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: The building of superhighways worth $5.5 billion is not the answer. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: Would transferring more long-distance freight off road on to rail be more cost-effective and better for road safety than spending $5.5 billion on a superhighway? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: Yes. That is why rail is an integral and important part of the transport strategy that the Green Party and Government members released late last year. Making rail more efficient is important for the long-term economic development of New Zealand.