Guy NathanHon NATHAN GUY (National—Ōtaki): Thank you Madam Chair. I've read quite a few of the submissions that've come through the Finance and Expenditure Committee and the one that I think best sums up the feeling out there in New Zealand is the one from Ken Shirley from the Road Transport Forum New Zealand. He said that the regional fuel tax is an absolute nonsense. Here we have the Minister in the chair Phil Twyford laughing at those comments and I can't believe that. The Minister is laughing when he knows the cost of fruit and vegetables is going to go up because I've heard and read Ken Shirley's comments: this regional fuel taxes is just going to be passed on. Who's it going to impact the most on? Those low-income earners. And then all those people in Auckland—and we didn't hear that from the previous speaker Deborah Russell—are going to have to pay 25.3c in a matter of days' time. On 1 July they will be hit by a double whammy. They'll get hit with a regional fuel tax and the one that's going across the whole of New Zealand.On this side of the House we could fund roads of national significance without having to enforce a regional fuel tax. Why can we do that? Because of prudent management. If the Government is so focused on this tax why not have a congestion tax? What we haven't heard from the other side of the House is how this is going to be spread out into other regions. What we know is already happening is when you drive over the Bombay Hills down into the Waikato already they know this tax is coming and the price is going to go up. What is going to have a perverse impact is motorists will probably fill their trailers and boots up with their good old jerrycans and head out of the Auckland region to fill up their jerrycans—imagine the safety consequences of that. This tax isn't needed. The Government said—actually the Labour Party and other political parties now in coalition said—there would be no new taxes. Now this is going to roll out and really impact not only all of Auckland; but it's going to be felt across New Zealand.Now we are debating Part 1 this afternoon and I have got an amendment that's going to come through in my name and be on the Table shortly. It's going to propose an exemption for primarily commercially used vehicles that are travelling with agriculture products on board. As I've already mentioned and it was to the fore when the Horticulture New Zealand board came and presented to the Finance and Expenditure Committee this is going to have not only a big impact on fruit and vegetables; it's going to impact on all of those staple food items that are going to go through to supermarkets. Those costs are going to be rolled out to all consumers.What is also really interesting and it relates to the regional fuel tax is in my electorate where we have a slowdown on the New Zealand Transport Agency confirming back to the Horowhenua community—400 houses in limbo at the moment—as to where the proposed route is going to go on the extension of the road of national significance from Ōtaki to around Levin. I'd be very interested to hear the Minister's comments on that because he is saying Oh no. Oh no that's at arm's length. No I don't get involved in that." And yet it was fine that he raided money out of the National Land Transport Fund for Auckland trams. It was fine for them to bring in KiwiRail when that used to go straight through to Cabinet. So the National Land Transport Fund is being raided.Even with this regional fuel tax there won't be enough money in my view to build the Horowhenua Expressway. What was summarised the best was from the former coroner when he likened that section of road to "a killing field marked like a battlefield with white crosses." Since 2013 there have been 11 deaths and 43 serious injuries. If Mr Jones over there on the Government side of the House was so focused on regional New Zealand you would think that he would be supporting the Horowhenua Expressway. There's so much doubt that my community are paralysed. They don't know if the Government is going to confirm the route. They don't know if they're going to take a long cup of tea and say that we need to delay it. Those landowners in Horowhenua need certainty. What we have seen with the Kapiti Expressway is the huge economic development that flows on the back of a decent four-lane road. Not only is it about safety; it's about productivity—getting your produce through to the capital city of Auckland and connecting through with the lower North Island.So this regional fuel tax—bringing it back to Part 1—is not necessary. If the Government really wanted to do something it should be focused on a congestion tax. This is going to mean that the cost of not only the regional fuel tax but the other tax that comes in in a matter of weeks is going to be felt right across New Zealand. The Government policy statement has changed and the concern that I have is that they have moved away from productivity. Minister Twyford in the chair a question for you: if the Government policy statement is focused on safety will you confirm that you will provide the funding for the Horowhenua Expressway? Silence. I can't even get—oh he's looking up now. I can't even get a head nod or a shake of the head saying yes or no. This is the uncertainty that we have—Michael Wood: I raise a point of order Madam Chairperson. I believe that this speech along with most other Opposition speeches are in breach of Speaker's ruling 110/3 which sets out that all speeches at this stage of proceedings in the committee should deal with the nuts and bolts clauses of the bill. We've had absolutely nothing of that eight minutes into this speech.CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): It may well be. It is for me to judge and I have judged that the debate so far has been focused on Part 1. They don't have to refer to individual clauses but they can talk about Part 1 of the bill and I'm satisfied that that's in fact happening.Hon NATHAN GUY: Thank you Madam Chair. Following on from the comments that I was just making previously before the point of order was raised I still look forward to hearing from the Minister answering the questions that I have raised with him today. In particular I also want to refer to the fuel outlets which is in Part 1 clause 5 inserting new section 65A. What's really important in this part is about the collection of this and indeed the fuel outlets and where the geographic regions spreads from and then the prices that are going to incur just outside of the region—how indeed is that going to be monitored? We still don't know. We've already seen prices going up.It's really interesting when I refer back to my electorate of Ōtaki because I have some of the cheapest fuel in the whole of the country. It's fascinating when you go into Levin because I've got the competition there with Gull and Waitomo Group up the road in Foxton and Allied Petroleum and then down the road you have the big BP and Z Energy and Co in Ōtaki and often the difference between Levin and Ōtaki can be 20c a litre on 91 fuel.My advice until the Government gets organised with their Commerce Commission inquiry and the recommendations that will flow from that is that motorists should look at an app—and download it—called Gaspy. When they're travelling around the country Gaspy is a fantastic app where you can very easily see when you go into a town. Gaspy will be really important when motorists move into Auckland or even just go out of Auckland. As they come over the Bombay Hills or they're travelling through Auckland they'll know that they're going to need to pay an extra 25.3c with the regional fuel tax and the nationwide tax so the Gaspy app is going to be really important when they come in or out of the Auckland region knowing where the cheapest and most efficient fuel is.Can I conclude by saying that this regional fuel tax isn't warranted. I hope that the Minister will support my amendment that does allow an exemption for vehicles operated primarily during the course of commercial farming operations because I believe that's paramount. If this Government wants to be inclusive and focused on poverty and look after the most vulnerable in our community you would think that they would make an exemption for vehicles that are carrying agriculture products either to market or to the supermarkets and back or indeed to smaller outlets closer to home. So this bill isn't needed. It's yet another tax. I look forward to the Minister responding to my questions as to whether he supports the Horowhenua Expressway."