Brown Peter: Land Transport Management Bill — Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee 
Brown Peter: Land Transport Management Bill — Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee 
[Volume:613;Page:9697] 
PETER BROWN (Deputy Leader—NZ First) 
: 
 I welcome following the member because if he had listened to me carefully he might have understood a little more of what I said. New Zealand First never ever said that we are totally opposed to toll roads—never ever. I did not say that. What I said—I will make this quite clear and I think the Minister will understand it—was that we are against the framework of generic toll roading that this bill provides for. We would be supportive of the individual toll road but we are not prepared to give a blanket across-the-country support for toll roads that just leaves the Minister or some such person to sign off on them. I tried to point out and I went to some pains to do so that there is better use of a dollar when it goes through the petrol tax system. The member just acknowledged that there is a use for that. 
We are saying that if we provide a framework for generic toll roading then motorists will get taken to the cleaners time and time again and they are sick of that. The average motorist is sick of being used as a cash cow. So just to recap for the benefit of anybody who is in doubt we would not necessarily oppose a toll road in a specific area for a specific reason but we are not prepared to support a bill that gives toll roading carte blanche here there and everywhere. Nor are we prepared to support a bill that has been amended to give the Minister the right to toll a road that is already in existence which we know is targeted at the harbour bridge project in Tauranga. We know the Government has United Future under the thumb. The United Future members will put their little hands up and say yes they will go along with that. We know that clause 53(2) although not in this part has been specially inserted in order to accomplish that project by means of tolling. I tell the Minister that if he pursues that then there will be quite some outbursts in Tauranga. The people there do not want a toll to be put back on the harbour bridge. There is no reason— 
Hon David Cunliffe 
: Yes they do! 
PETER BROWN 
: That member is so out of touch he does not know what the price of petrol is. He just gets in his Crown car and drives around the country at the taxpayers’ expense and he gleefully enjoys it. For a young man who does not know what he is doing he is doing very well at the taxpayers’ expense. 
Brent Catchpole 
: He certainly won’t be walking home tonight. 
PETER BROWN 
: No he will not be walking home tonight. 
David Benson-Pope 
: What is that member’s salary—unearned? 
PETER BROWN 
: The member over there on the Government side of the Chamber is very confused. I would invite Mr Benson-Pope to stand up take a call—he has plenty to say in terms of interjections—and let us hear what he actually feels about this bill. Generic toll roading is not required in this country; it is neither required nor is it desirable. I think the Labour Party will find to its detriment that New Zealanders do not agree with it. 
We believe that in the first instance and I want to make this quite clear there should be fairer use of the 18.5c tax that goes into the Crown account. The Minister shakes his head— 
Hon Paul Swain 
: Why didn’t you change it when you were in Government? 
PETER BROWN 
: We did. I welcome the opportunity to say we did exactly that. We took money from the Crown account and put it into roading—and the 2.1c was going to carry on. Is that right? 
R Doug Woolerton 
: It would have been more. 
PETER BROWN 
: It would have continued and by now the Crown’s portion would have been reduced significantly. 
But I want to know from the Minister where the economic report is. I do not want to stand up here harping on about the evils of that 18.5c being used in the Crown account if in fact that can be justified. On the information available to me I do not believe there is justification for that money to go into the Crown account but when the Minister of Finance says that he has compiled an economic report I want to see it. I will be asking the Minister about that report time and time again. I will not be like a United Future person who rolls over because the Government smiles nicely or does whatever it takes for the United Future members to do that.