Smith Lockwood: Customs and Excise (Motor Spirits) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Smith Lockwood: Customs and Excise (Motor Spirits) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:623;Page:18613] 
Dr the Hon LOCKWOOD SMITH (National—Rodney) 
: 
 In speaking to Part 2 I am staggered that this Government in 2005 has come into Parliament with a proposal such as this—one it believes will solve the roading crisis in New Zealand. It reminds me of someone setting out to build a home with the contents of his or her piggy bank. Do members remember the little money boxes we had as kids? My colleague who is to be the next Minister of Finance had a money box. He did not grow up in a rich family. Back when I was a kid we used to put pennies thruppences sixpences and shillings in our money boxes. This legislation is like using the cash from that money box to build a house. To think we could solve the roading crisis in New Zealand with a bit of cash like this ripped off motorists is just pig ignorant. 
John Key 
: It’s laughable. 
Dr the Hon LOCKWOOD SMITH 
: It is laughable. There should be a proper rational strategy for investing in our roading infrastructure. As my good colleague John Key pointed out a moment ago with accrual accounting it should not be the whole cash expenditure that is coming into our annual accounts; it should be the cost of financing that infrastructure investment. The Labour Government is approaching this matter in such a childish way. We should never forget of course that Helen Clark knows best—that our terribly popular and competent Prime Minister who is a victim of her own success knows best in these matters! But this is just pig ignorant. I say to the Minister in the chair Rick Barker that he does not know the situation because he probably does not get up north very often. Last Sunday I was heading north from Auckland— 
John Key 
: Slowly. 
Dr the Hon LOCKWOOD SMITH 
: I was OK; I was heading north but I pitied the poor suffering New Zealand voters and taxpayers who were heading south. Following the speeches made by Don Brash Orewa is a very famous place. As people head north from there they go through a place called Hatfields Beach where Rob Muldoon used to have a bach. Last Sunday the traffic was travelling at 5 kilometres an hour south through Hatfields Beach. As people travel north from there they go up the Waiwera hill then down it to Waiwera. The traffic on Sunday was travelling at 5 kilometres an hour bumper to bumper. Going further north from Waiwera travellers go up and down the Puhoi Hill where the Albany to Puhoi realignment B2 will dump four lanes out on to the poor old State Highway 1. That Sunday the traffic was still bumper to bumper gridlocked at 5 kilometres an hour heading south. In fact by this stage the traffic was stationary. 
Heading north from there people come to a passing lane that Transit has been building. It has taken Transit more than 12 months to construct a passing lane that is not even half a kilometre long and it is still not finished. That is how efficient Transit is. The traffic had absolutely stopped at that point. As people head north from there they go up Schedewy’s Hill on to Windy Ridge and the traffic situation was still the same. This was an ordinary Sunday afternoon. 
John Key 
: It was a hot Sunday afternoon. 
Dr the Hon LOCKWOOD SMITH 
: It was an ordinary hot Sunday afternoon. It was not a long weekend but an ordinary Sunday afternoon and back almost to Warkworth the traffic was gridlocked. It was totally gridlocked. 
Yet this Labour Government is increasing the price of petrol by 5c per litre. That increase will be felt by taxpayers although the total amount of money raised will not be much at all. It will do nothing to solve the roading crisis because Labour does not have its mind around the full extent of that crisis. It does not have its mind anywhere near it. The crisis is getting worse by the quarter. Every 3 months at the moment it is getting exponentially worse but the Labour Government just sets up committees and taxing facilities and does nothing to solve it. 
What is more the public will feel it because right now businesses are being charged levies for higher fuel prices. It is very cynical that if this legislation passes as it will because United Future will support it— 
Hon Maurice Williamson 
: No it won’t. 
Dr the Hon LOCKWOOD SMITH 
: It will; it is just a doormat. The worst feature is that this bill gives the Government the power to decide when to impose this tax and we know that it will use that power cynically. Michael Cullen will not seek to impose it until after the election because he knows that the public will be very angry when the extra tax on fuel goes on. The public is not silly. It knows that this is not the way to properly finance our roading.