Brown SimeonSecond ReadingHon SIMEON BROWN (Minister of Transport): I move That the Land Transport Management (Repeal of Regional Fuel Tax) Amendment Bill be now read a second time. This is a great day for Aucklanders. We're repealing the Auckland regional fuel tax a tax which the last Government put in place promising that this tax would transform Auckland promising that Mill Road in Takanini would be built and promising the major infrastructure and congestion issues which I've heard members from across the House talking about—but what has this tax actually done? I see my good colleague from Upper Harbour there. The big red zero is coming out—the big red zero which featured with the last Government; a big fat zero. Well the reality is that it has helped pay for $500000 speed bumps—slowing people down. They talk about congestion on the other side of this House. Well what do $500000 speed bumps riddled across Auckland—what are they doing to congestion in Auckland? That's what they are doing and that's what this money was being spent on. Red-light cameras—red-light cameras. That's what the regional fuel tax money was being spent on. What about speed management plans? Well whenever you hear about a speed management plan you actually know what a speed management actually means. It means slowing everyone down and the last Government's plans of course were to make us crawl around in our cars with people walking in front with red flags to tell us how fast we could go. That's what the regional fuel tax revenue was being spent on. So when the members on this side of the House say that Aucklanders voted for this it's true: Aucklanders voted in overwhelming numbers to repeal the Auckland regional fuel tax. They were doing it not only because it was a cost of living issue but they knew—they knew—that the money was going to waste. When they drive around the roads they see the congestion and they feel the potholes but they see $500000 speed bumps being built and Aucklanders are wondering Why is there always enough money to build $500000 speed bumps but not enough asphalt to fill the potholes?" Well it's because the regional fuel tax was putting the money into the wrong areas. So the National Party the ACT Party and the New Zealand First Party are proud to be here putting this bill through to repeal the Auckland regional fuel tax. This bill does not just—as I outlined—stop the fuel tax but it is about priorities. It is about making sure that the revenues that are collected from people who use our roads are prioritised into what is important to them. So this bill will ring-fence the remaining money because—I mean lo and behold over $340 million of money was unspent. So for six years Aucklanders have been taxed over $340 million—that is over two years' worth of the revenues collected from Aucklanders has not even been spent; it's sitting in a bank account collecting interest. So this bill will require that that remaining funding is put—Tom Rutherford: That's 680 speed bumps. Hon SIMEON BROWN: Well it scares me I say to the member for Bay of Plenty. It scares me to think about how many speed bumps that could build. My view is actually just to stop the speed bumps which is what we're doing through the Government policy statement rather than continuing to spend money on something which isn't a priority. So this will stop the regional fuel tax. It will require the remaining funding to go towards our priority project which is the City Rail Link trains and stabling for the City Rail Link—and by the way the last Government talked big about public transport but we started the City Rail Link and we will complete it—the Eastern Busway which will ensure more transport choices for those in East Auckland including the Reeves Road flyover; and there are some local roading improvement projects which are important to Auckland. Also importantly for the rest of the country—and I heard members opposite saying "Oh well why is it that all of these people from outside of Auckland speaking on this bill?" Well the reality is that we're all elected as members of this House and we take a national interest to the issues facing this country. I put it to members opposite that by repealing this legislation it means there will not be regional fuel taxes being able to be put in place in other regions around our country as well which is of course good news for all New Zealanders. This bill is progressing through the House and I commend it to the House."