Gallagher Martin: Railways Bill — First Reading 
Gallagher Martin: Railways Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:610;Page:7521] 
MARTIN GALLAGHER (NZ Labour—Hamilton West) 
: 
 I listened with great interest to the previous speaker. Was that member out of this country when that Government sold Tranz Rail? For him to have the gall and the temerity— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: That has nothing to do with the question that this bill be read a first time. Will the member please come to that question. 
Hon Roger Sowry 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I know that there was a problem with the sound system—I was listening on the radio last night. There seems to be a problem now with a lot of distortion of the member’s speech through the microphones. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: No I think the member was just speaking far too closely and far too loudly. There was no problem with business last night. I have now discovered that the problem was that the microphone to my left was left on by mistake. I have ensured that will never happen again. 
MARTIN GALLAGHER 
: I thank the member for his assistance but I say that notwithstanding—and I respect absolutely the Speaker’s ruling—I think it is pertinent in the context of this bill to reflect on some of the history surrounding the rail system and what I believe was the absolute tragedy of the sale of our rail company. 
In terms of the first reading of this bill I just want to take the opportunity to warmly congratulate the Minister and the Government on the introduction of this very important legislation. It recognises the critical strategic importance of this country’s rail network. It is my considered view that the previous Government seemed very much unaware of that fact. I believe that this particular bill is an important step in recognising just how important the maintenance of the rail infrastructure is to the economy and the social well-being of our nation. 
I want perhaps to take the opportunity just to restate—for those who are listening to this very important discussion in Parliament—the point and the purpose of this legislation. The fundamental aim of the legislation is to improve the safety regime for all people involved with the operation of the rail network in this country. It is implementing the recommendations of Margaret Wilson’s ministerial inquiry into Tranz Rail which was reported on in late 2000. It also addresses serious gaps in the current safety framework that have arisen because of recent changes in the rail industry. 
I am not a member of the executive—I speak as the member for Hamilton West—but I want to place on record how distressed I am on behalf of my constituents at what has happened to rail in this country over the past few years. I believe that what has happened is nothing short of an absolute and utter tragedy. Tranz Rail as we are aware has contracted out its maintenance. It has sold its long distance passenger service Tranz Scenic. It has sold the Auckland rail corridor to the Crown and who knows it may yet sell the Tranz Metro service. 
However the current law appears to assume that there is one major rail operator only which will now no longer be the case. The bill seeks to fundamentally improve safety so that rail passengers workers and freight will not come to harm. If one compares rail with other modes of transport particularly road transport one finds that travelling by rail is pretty safe but there is always room for very significant improvement. 
I stress that I am enthusiastic about this bill. I think it is a very good bill and a really good step forward. It is great to work with people like Paul Swain and Judith Tizard and their team who are absolutely dedicated to the rebuilding of this nation’s infrastructure. I also acknowledge the work that Jim Anderton does. Jim Anderton will emphasise just how critical a good safe efficient effective rail network is to regional development around our country and I pay personal tribute to his strong advocacy over the years for the rail network. 
As I mentioned the bill is focused on safety issues. It is owner-neutral and is not related to any proposed sale of the Tranz Rail system. The Government originally planned to introduce the legislation early this year but delayed it somewhat while it worked through issues related to a number of small heritage operators. It is the Government’s view that they will not be disadvantaged by the bill because they generally have a very good safety record and that requires less intervention. The bill is flexible enough to ensure that safety requirements are tailored to suit the scale of individual operations and those heritage rail operators will be further consulted over fees and charges under the provisions of the bill. 
In the spirit of parliamentary magnanimity I acknowledge the support of the Green Party and that this bill is extending rail safety legislation to cover a wider number of industry players. It ensures a clear chain of accountability for safety and consolidates—which is a very important factor—all rail safety legislation into the one Act. That is a very important part of the work that I believe we must do as a country and as a society in order to rebuild our rail infrastructure in New Zealand. This bill also introduces a new regime for licensing documentation assessments audits enforcements and costs. 
This bill is very important for my region because in my electorate is one of the major rail junctions in New Zealand Frankton Junction. I am one of the many Kiwis who grew up to the regular sound of—and this proves my age—steam and diesel trains by day and night as when I was a kid I lived a mile or two only from the major railway junction in Hamilton. As a member for the Waikato region I acknowledge the critically important role that the Frankton railway junction has played in the economic and transport infrastructure of the Waikato area. 
The bill will be introducing a new regime of licensing. In fact all existing rail operators will have to relicense as will those that provide access to the track. Everyone who is part of the rail sector must be covered by a safety case provided by either an operator or an access provider. Documentation is very important. Enforcement of the safety criteria is also very important and I acknowledge the work that the regulator the Land Transport Safety Authority will play in that. 
Finally I welcome the introduction of this bill and its referral to a select committee. I believe that it is a very important step on what I believe is the long road back to recreating a safe efficient and effective rail transport infrastructure in this country. I wish the committee’s members well in their consideration of this important bill.