Gosche Mark: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
Gosche Mark: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
[Volume:612;Page:9260] 
8.  
Hon MARK GOSCHE (Labour—Maungakiekie) 
 to the  
Minister of Transport 
: What steps is the Government taking to improve road safety in New Zealand? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN (Minister of Transport) 
: 
 This morning I announced an extra $47 million of new funding to be made available over the next 2 years to improve road safety through engineering measures. This will double the funding Transfund New Zealand had earmarked for minor safety works throughout New Zealand. This engineering announcement is the first step in the Government’s “three Es” road safety programme which aims to reduce the New Zealand road toll to 300 a year by 2010. 
Hon Mark Gosche 
: What sorts of projects will that money be spent on? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: The news is good. The types of projects that may qualify for the new funding are improvement to accident black spots such as wire-rope barriers; lighting at rural intersections; and the removal or protection of roadside obstacles such as lamp posts trees and culverts. The extra money will help to improve road safety and save lives. 
John Key 
: What steps is the Government taking to introduce drug testing in order to improve road safety in New Zealand? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: The third “E” of the “three Es” campaign for road safety is enforcement. I will be taking some proposals to Cabinet in December and drug testing will be one of them. 
Ron Mark 
: Noting the Minister’s commitment to improving road safety and reducing accidents why when Mr Barry Smart of Christchurch asked the Minister of Police why a woman who had hit his car who had broken the law by driving on a restricted driver’s licence with three passengers and who admitted being in the wrong was not prosecuted by the police did the Minister say: “The priorities are focused on preventing crashes through proactive enforcement. Time spent investigating crashes is time spent away from their primary role of crash prevention.”; and how does that gobbledygook improve road safety or is it just an excuse for revenue-collecting? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: There were three questions there. The Minister may comment on two of them. 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: That has very little to do with the primary good-news announcement from the Government about spending more money to really do something about black spots around the country. My view is that his question would be more appropriately addressed to the Minister of Police. 
Ron Mark 
: I seek the leave of the House to table some documents. The first is a letter from Mr Smart to the Commissioner of Police expressing his frustration over getting the case prosecuted. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
Ron Mark 
: The second document is a letter to myself expressing frustration over getting police action on the issue. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
Ron Mark 
: The third document is a response from the Minister of Police dated 6 May where he states that investigating accidents is not what the police are there to do. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
Ron Mark 
: The fourth letter is another from Mr Smart stating that he does not accept the Minister’s answers. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.