11. Question No. 11—TransportGREG O'CONNOR (Labour—Ōhāriu) to the Minister of TransportQuestion No. 11—Transport11. GREG O'CONNOR (Labour—Ōhāriu) to the Minister of Transport: What recent announcements has he made about supporting greater access to driver licence testing and training?Hon MICHAEL WOOD (Minister of Transport): Yesterday I joined my colleague the Minister for Social Development and Employment the Hon Carmel Sepuloni to announce support to help 64000 New Zealanders access driver licence testing and training. Having a driver licence is a key requirement for up to 70 percent of jobs yet a big portion of our community can't access training or tests due to costs or other barriers such as location. Evidence shows that getting a driver's licence is an important step in obtaining employment staying out of the justice system and staying safe on our roads. This $86.5 million investment from Budget 2022 will have tangible results for people progressing through the driver licensing system and broader social and economic benefits for Aotearoa New Zealand.Greg O'Connor: How does this scheme make it easier for people to get drivers' licences?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: This investment will provide targeted support for people to progress through the drivers' licensing system by providing access to high-quality lessons to ensure that drivers are ready for the road. We are improving access to testing through initiatives such as partnering with communities and increasing driver testing officers' capabilities and capacity to meet the needs of communities. Waka Kotahi will also provide mobile testing options for learner theory tests so that community members can access testing in locations such as community centres marae and schools in remote and rural communities.Greg O'Connor: What if any are the flow-on benefits of ensuring people have access to drivers' licences?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: There are many. Drivers who remain engaged within the licensing system and progress to their full licence have been shown to have improved road safety outcomes. It stands to reason therefore that greater access and support for individuals learning to drive will result in lower rates of serious injuries and deaths on our roads—a key focus of our Government's Road to Zero programme. Removing the barriers to driver licence training also helps to prevent fines court and the risk of criminal penalties providing pathways to work for those that otherwise might face barriers and in doing so unlocking social economic and productivity benefits right across our economy and society.Simeon Brown: Is the Minister aware that the average wait time to sit a restricted driver's licence test has doubled between 2018 and 2019 and doubled again between 2019 and 2022; if so what is the Minister's target for wait times to sit a restricted driver's licence test?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: I think that the member and most reasonable people would understand that the experience of COVID over the past couple of years has resulted in an increase in waiting times. Those are starting to come down in regions where resource has been applied and this Government is putting an additional $86.5 million through this package to make sure that people have access to these services and that waiting times are acceptable and reasonable to support communities. I would note that initiatives like this would not be possible with great swingeing tax cuts for the wealthiest New Zealanders. We're investing in New Zealanders and access to the services they need.Simeon Brown: Is the Government still committed to five free driver's licence lessons for young people at secondary school or is this just another broken promise?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: As per the announcement that the Minister for Social Development and Employment and I have made we are providing through this announcement—as we're discussing in this question—targeted support for those drivers' licensing candidates and communities who need the support within our system. That's what this $86.5 million investment will make. It will help over 64000 people who might otherwise not get their driver licence to get one. That's a good outcome.Kieran McAnulty: How will this scheme specifically benefit those in rural areas?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: I have received very active representation from Government MPs in rural electorates around this issue who do want to see there be better access to driver licence testing and training in their areas. This scheme will help by providing much more flexibility and resource for Waka Kotahi and the Ministry of Social Development to work with providers in those areas and to do innovative things like set up theory testing in community halls marae and schools by setting up block booking in areas. We know in many of these rural areas the current model doesn't necessarily meet the fiscal bottom line but we don't want to leave those communities in the lurch. So this additional resourcing will enable us to do things like setting up block booking for people in those areas so that service providers can come in take bookings and get those young people into licences. This is going to be very good for rural New Zealand.