Harawira Hone: Land Transport Management Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Harawira Hone: Land Transport Management Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:643;Page:12825] 
HONE HARAWIRA (Maori Party—Te Tai Tokerau) 
: 
Tena koe Mr Assistant Speaker. Tenatatou e te Whare. Tena koutou e takuwhanau e matakitaki mai anai te pouwhakaata. 
[ 
Greetings to you Mr Assistant Speaker and to us in the House. Greetings to my family watching on television. 
] 
A couple of weeks ago BP raised its petrol prices by 3c a litre. That does not sound like much; it is such a small amount that it does not even have a coin value any more. But as all those Maori families who headed back home on Labour weekend for unveilings reunions weddings church hui and other gatherings found out 3c a litre very quickly adds up to a lot of money. 
These are the families who on the same day were identified in the  
Social Report 2007 
 as experiencing high levels of inequality. They are the same families who even the Labour Party faithful know have been hurt by the actions of their own Government which has acted against their interests as evidenced in the discussion on remit 38 welfare benefits at the Labour Party conference just last weekend. 
That remit I tell those who have not seen it calls for the Government to urgently consider more assistance for those on low incomes and single and invalids benefits and for other beneficiaries and caregivers who have been deliberately cut out of support under the Working for Families package. 
That report I referred to  
Social Report 2007 
 stated that some 12 percent of the citizens of Aotearoa live in households with incomes below the OECD threshold and that to no one’s great surprise Maori and other ethnic groups are those most affected. The report shows that 22 percent of Maori 29 percent of Pasifika and 13 percent of others are affected. Unfortunately that is the continuing theme running right through all of this Government’s social policies. 
Beneath the veneer of social equality beats the heart of a Government that deliberately ensures that Maori and Pasifika consistently make up the most underprivileged sector of our society. It is those families who are continually bypassed in the economic growth of this country that the Maori Party is concerned about as we think about funding for land transport purposes. 
This bill will impose a new regional fuel tax of up to 10c per litre of petrol for regional transport projects. Of that 50 percent is for roading and 50 percent is for public transport. Hopefully the select committee process will encourage innovative ideas to ensure that low-income families are not doubly penalised by this new fuel tax. 
As the MP for Te Tai Tokerau and a regular commuter into and out of my North Shore and west Auckland constituencies I am constantly blown away by the magnitude of the Auckland traffic snarl. It takes me just over 3 hours to get from Kaitaia to the outskirts of Auckland and then it takes me another hour to get from the harbour bridge to my mum’s place out in Avondale. I am glad it is not a traffic scenario I have to deal with daily but then I do not know that my constituents out west will be too keen on the proposed solution either. They will be happy to know that more money is going into public transport and roading but they will not be too keen to hear that it is coming out of their pockets. 
Mind you it is only in the last few years that Tamaki-makau-rau has got its fair share of the roading dollar based on its economic contribution to the country. Before 2003 it got a lot less. Wellington and Canterbury though are still significantly underfunded compared with their contribution to the national economy so maybe Auckland ain’t that badly off after all. Which region gets what has long been a source of controversy. Hopefully this bill will ensure more strategic guidance from the Government about funding priorities. 
Of course when the Maori Party members think strategically we think of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi which Parekura Horomia Nanaia Mahuta Dover Samuels Mita Ririnui Mahara Okeroa Dave Hereora and my ministerial whanaunga Shane Jones voted to delete. That does not give us much hope that the New Zealand Transport Agency will bother to meet its Treaty obligations. I mean if the Government ain’t going to bother why should its agencies? 
We will also be interested to learn whether the views of tangata whenua have been considered in the drafting of this bill and we are very interested to hear about provisions in this bill aimed at reducing the consultation process. We are already concerned about the number of councils not bothering to consult with Maori even though they are required to do so under the Local Government Act. 
We note that the publication  
He Wharemoa Te Rakau Ka Mahue 
 which came out just a couple of months ago stated that Maori felt that engagement with local government was not genuine and was often conducted after the real decision-making had already been done. Maori also feel that any interest in engaging Maori normally happens only at election time and tails off very quickly after that. The Maori Party is wary of any moves in this bill that might make this situation worse. 
The Maori Party also takes the opportunity of this debate on funding for roading and public transport to again raise the crucial issues of peak oil and global warming. With the price of oil already at US$89 a barrel and no hope of future price drops there is an urgent need for formal national planning on energy use and conservation of fossil fuel for ramping up community education on energy alternatives and for encouraging personal ownership of national goals. 
We are happy that some of the regional fuel tax will go towards more public transport but given the ever-increasing car mania in this country more thought might have gone into more innovative ideas to encourage people to car pool use public transport bike or even walk. Building more roads does not reduce fuel consumption and does not lead to a low-energy future. 
This bill is part of a well-overdue step to increasing access to affordable public transport in a world crippled by rising fuel prices. Petrol is a major cost to whanau and any tax hike will hurt those on low incomes who have large families. We will be seeking assurances during the select committee process that iwi and Maori communities will continue to have the right to be consulted as is the obligation under the Local Government Act. 
We support the development of low-cost public transport and we urge all members of this House to give serious consideration to some of the complex concerns raised in respect of public transport the needs of our more vulnerable communities and the more pressing issues of peak oil and climate change. The Maori Party will support this bill’s referral to the select committee. Kia ora Mr Deputy Speaker.