Genter Julie Anne: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeGenter Julie Anne: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 05 November 2015. Volume:709;Page:7747. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]9.JULIE ANNE GENTER (Green) to the Minister of Transport: Does he stand by his statement that New Zealand is “the most electric-vehicle-ready country in the world”?Hon SIMON BRIDGES (Minister of Transport): Absolutely and one of the many reasons why is the massive roading investment that the National Government has made ensuring large long roads for them to roar along.Julie Anne Genter: In light of that answer is it because National has done almost nothing to support electric vehicles for the past 7 years that New Zealand has only about 800 while the Netherlands have 45000 and Norway has nearly 70000?Hon SIMON BRIDGES: There have been a number of initiatives in this area. I would remind the member that the number of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles in this country has gone up 500 percent albeit from a low base in the last couple of years. If this is a competition about who loves electric vehicles the most I can assure the member that I will be winning because I actually like cars and the roads that they travel on unlike her.Julie Anne Genter: Is he aware that a number of electric vehicle manufacturers are not supplying electric cars to the New Zealand market because they consider there to be insufficient Government policy supporting their uptake and what does he intend to do about it?Hon SIMON BRIDGES: I think that is entirely a mischaracterisation of what the position is. We are a small market. There is a range of reasons why. I agree it would be good to see many more electric vehicles and other low-emission vehicles here. But as the member knows these are things that we are thinking about and will have more to say on in due course.David Seymour: Would the Minister be concerned by reports from places such as Silicon Valley that subsidies paid for by middle-income taxpayers have been used by the super-rich to buy a third car in the form of a Tesla Roadster and does he think that is the sort of policy the New Zealand Opposition should support?Mr SPEAKER: Again either of those two supplementary questions—the Hon Simon Bridges.Hon SIMON BRIDGES: I think there is a real jeopardy in relation to a range of new technologies solar included. You have got to be very careful about not robbing Peter to pay Paul. I think the best policies are ones that remove unnecessary barriers and nudge things along not the big spending and subsidising policies that the Greens favour.Julie Anne Genter: If he is serious about encouraging uptake of electric vehicles here in New Zealand will he support a policy that will actually result in a transition to electric vehicles like my member’s bill that encourages businesses to choose clean transport options for staff by exempting electric vehicles and public transport passes from fringe benefit tax?Hon SIMON BRIDGES: I thank the member for her party political broadcast. Can I make very clear that this is a Government that favours new technologies and does want to remove unnecessary barriers but we will not be supporting the member’s bill.