Strange JamieJAMIE STRANGE (Labour): Hallelujah! We have a Government that has ideas for a change. We have heard no ideas tonight from the Opposition. Yes they have been opposing the bill. They've been talking about tax and they've got all their arguments but we've had no fresh ideas. That's the reason why in the election last year the country voted for change: because they want fresh ideas.I have never lived in Auckland but from time to time I do have the pleasure of travelling to Auckland. It used to take around an hour and a half to get from Hamilton to the centre of Auckland. Fairly reliably you could do it in an hour and a half at pretty much any time of the day. Now you'll be lucky to get from Hamilton to the centre of—sorry Madam Assistant Speaker. My apologies. Now the average commuter would be lucky to get to the centre of Auckland in three hours. That's because of the transport issues and that's why we're here tonight debating this bill. I am pleased that we have a Minister who has some fresh ideas—some fresh ideas to fix the transport crisis that's taking place in Auckland at the moment.There's a little bit of a saying in Hamilton that when you travel to Auckland yes there's a nice new motorway to get there but you get stuck in the Great Southern Car Park" which is the Southern Motorway and regularly you just crawl your way into the city. So there's no doubt that there are issues around transport and I am proud that we have a Government who have some ideas—some clear ideas about how we're going to fix this.Now we've heard from the Opposition. We've heard from one of the members—it was a quote from Winston Churchill which was kind of unusual about being stuck in a bucket unable to lift yourself up. Well the reality is the reason why we're stuck in a bucket is because of the previous Government's inaction on transport and housing in Auckland. We've heard about taxes—we've heard about taxes; we have. How many taxes did the previous Government bring in? Eighteen new taxes—18 new taxes. Yes this is a tax but it's a tax that will make a clear difference to Aucklanders. It's a tax that Auckland businesses in particular want. We are a Government who will work with businesses. We won't just tell businesses and others what to do; we will actively work with business.This bill will make a real difference for business. Thomas Goldsby who's a professor at Ohio State University—around business he says "Transportation is a major contributor to the economy and a competitive force in business. It is the activity that physically connects the business to its supply chain partners such as suppliers and customers and is a major influence on the customer's satisfaction with the company … [It's] among the more vital [aspects of a business]."—among the more vital aspects of a business.This bill here will help businesses in the following ways: it will enable access to markets for customers and workers. Every time we have someone stuck in a car they're not adding to the economy and we've heard that from both sides of the House so we must get the traffic moving in Auckland. This bill will do that and that will help businesses. This bill will give people access to the things they need: jobs education and a sense of community. We want to make it easier for businesses to expand to new markets to take on more workers by providing a world-class transport system that enables workers and customers to get to those businesses and those businesses to get their products to the market.As we know businesses don't just work in silos; we're connected and transport is the key aspect that connects businesses to other businesses that connects businesses to their customers and that connects businesses to their suppliers. I am proud that this is a Government who will support businesses by providing a world-class transport system in Auckland. This bill will do that. Businesses have told us that we need this bill. We will listen and we will act because this Government has fresh ideas that will work. Thank you."