O'Connor DamienHon DAMIEN O'CONNOR (Labour): Thank you very much Madam Chair. I came to the Chamber late—I had another meeting. I am thankful to be able speak to my amendment. There may be some in the Chamber who say you know Do I care about Auckland?" I do care—particularly because I do travel up there occasionally—because my amendment reinstates Project 8 in the Land Transport Management (Regional Fuel Tax Scheme—Auckland) Order 2018 and it's to do with road safety.I have a passion for road safety. As someone—and there'll be a few members here in the Chamber—who drives 50000 or 60000 kilometres a year at least it's a lot of time on the road and you fear for what might happen. There are a multitude of dangers out there. It's one of the most dangerous things that people do: hop in a 1-tonne projectile and drive at 100 kilometres an hour or something towards someone else who's coming the other way. It's kind of taken for granted. We need to have proper laws and guidelines and protections to ensure that as few people as possible are killed or maimed. I said before: $5 million for every fatal accident.So my question to the Minister for Transport is: when you are going to exclude capital expenditure of critical safety projects across Auckland including safer speed limits rural road safety improvements—something I'm very passionate about—what's the cost of this long term? If we have one more fatal accident that's another $5 million cost to the economy. If he is indeed proposing that the amendments will drive better economic growth every one of those fatal accidents cost $5 million. So has he done a study has he got advice as to what will be the effect of not investing in safer speed limits rural road safety improvements?Indeed it goes over—there are many areas. The Cabinet Expenditure and Regulatory Review Committee addressed high-risk corridors intersection and speed-related deficiencies on the network. Deficiencies are areas in infrastructure that have been identified as faulty and this is going to be excluded from funding in Auckland—this is outrageous. We have a health and safety regime in this country that says if you identify a risk you have a legal obligation to do something about that. Yet the Minister—and the question is for him: how can he walk away from this legal obligation to do everything in his power and to work with Auckland Council to reduce the risks that might result in deaths and injuries? Because if it was a workplace and indeed as Minister of Transport it is your workplace Minister—how are you going to explain to the families of the people who are killed on rural roads because of insufficient infrastructure? How are you going to explain your legal position? Because if you were an employer or you were overseeing—CHAIRPERSON (Barbara Kuriger): Please don't use the word "you".Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR: Sorry sorry Madam Chair. If the Minister was the employer or was the pick—I can't remember the technical term for it in Health and Safety—Rachel Boyack: PCBU.Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR: —PCBU (person conducting a business or undertaking)—then the Minister would be liable. So this is excluding investment in areas of road safety and if it was health and safety there would be an outrage. So Minister maybe you can explain how you can justify that—the urban road safety programme as well will be excluded.Then you go over to the area that I'm not familiar with—because it itemises the particular areas and my colleagues will point to those—but funding will be applied or will be excluded to signage related to speed limit changes. Now I've had the occasional speeding fine. Sometimes it's because I don't know what the speed limit is. But there are many many angry people around the country now who are getting pinged. The Minister says there's going to be more police out there on the road—that's fine that will contribute to better road safety. But if they haven't had the signage to know what the speed limit is—and there are numerous examples across the country particularly rural areas and they'll be the same around Auckland. "What was that last sign I had? What's the speed limit now? Is it 60 or 70 or 80?" Indeed there's an ability now for the council to set variable speed limits. If people are going to be prosecuted because there's not been an investment and the Minister's legislation has prevented investment in speed signs that is outrageous. You will see—no the Minister will see—the reaction the Government will from the people who live in rural Auckland and those who live in urban—CHAIRPERSON (Barbara Kuriger): The member's time has expired."