Williamson Maurice: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Williamson Maurice: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:623;Page:18803] 
12.  
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON (National—Pakuranga) 
 to the  
Minister of Finance 
: Why does he consider it necessary to place an additional 5c per litre taxation on petrol when the Government is running a surplus of over $6 billion and over $570 million currently collected from petrol excise is not spent on roads? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Minister of Finance) 
: 
 In response to the member’s question on fiscal matters even after the increase in excise duty the amount will not cover the full economic cost of the road system. The Government inherited years of under-investment on roads throughout the 1990s presided over by lazy and ineffective Ministers of Transport. All the increase in the excise duty will go on land transport. In addition over $1.1 billion extra will go into land transport in Auckland and Wellington over and above the excise duty. 
Hon Maurice Williamson 
: Can the Minister confirm that he is the same Dr Michael Cullen who along with Helen Clark and the now Minister of Transport Pete Hodgson voted in this House in 1995 for all petrol tax to go to the roads and not to the consolidated account; and if it was appropriate then when the Government accounts were only just in balance why is it not appropriate now when there is a $6 billion surplus? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: The member is quite unfair to his former colleague the Rt Hon Sir William Birch. The Government was running a fairly strong operating surplus in 1995. 
Dr Don Brash 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. That was in no way at all an answer to that question. Could you ask the Minister to address the question my colleague asked? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: The member’s question made an assertion at the end about the surplus being only in balance at the time. The member is wrong. I am challenging the actual assumption that underlay the question. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The Minister can do that in answering the question because it was contained in the question itself. 
Rod Donald 
: How much of the extra petrol tax will be invested in public transport rail and traffic demand management in recognition of the contribution they make to reducing congestion energy consumption and pollution? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I do not have those exact details in front of me. The member is certainly correct in asserting that not all the money is going in terms of road construction; money is also money going into public transport etc. 
Larry Baldock 
: Does the Minister agree that it is important to tell motorists what the $570 million from their petrol excise duty which is not spent on roading is actually spent on rather than responding to such legitimate inquiries with the standard and inadequate response of what hospitals or schools will be closed if the Government does not keep robbing the motorists as previous Governments have done; if so when will the road pricing study results be released to members of the public so they can determine for themselves whether the diversion into the Crown bank account is justified? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I am happy to release today the most important numbers in that respect. At a recent public hearing of the Finance and Expenditure Committee I was asked to produce data in terms of a capital charging regime on roads. I have now produced that data. At an 8 percent capital charge which is less than the Government normally applies on capital charge the roading system would generate a capital charge requirement of $1.047 billion which is two-thirds higher than the amount retained in the Crown bank account. In other words the excise duty does not even cover the capital charge element let alone any other economic costs arising out of land transport. 
Hon Maurice Williamson 
: Given that the Minister of Customs is in the House and did do the  
Morning Report  
interviews explaining this tax I seek leave to ask this supplementary question of the Minister of Customs instead of the Minister of Finance. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought—any member can seek leave. Is there any objection? There is. 
Hon Maurice Williamson 
: Is this Dr Michael Cullen the same person who along with Helen Clark and Pete Hodgson voted in 1995 in this House for all petrol tax to go to the road fund? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: No. I am 10 years older and that much wiser.