Twyford PhilLAND TRANSPORT (RAIL) LEGISLATION BILLSecond ReadingHon PHIL TWYFORD (Minister of Transport): I move That the Land Transport (Rail) Legislation Bill be now read a second time. I am very proud of this Government's record on rail. In less than three years we've invested $4.6 billion in the rail network which is considerably more by the way than the former Government did over nine years. When we came into Government one of our priorities was to revive the network which under the previous Government had been in a state of managed decline. And I want to acknowledge colleagues in the Green Party and in New Zealand First—all three governing parties are strongly committed to rail as the sustainable backbone of this country's 21st century transport system. The aim of this bill is to implement a new planning and funding framework for the heavy rail track network. I want to begin by thanking the Transport and Infrastructure Committee for the time and effort that they've put into this bill and for the amendments that the committee has recommended which I support. I also want to express my appreciation for the time and effort that submitters put into providing input into the bill. The committee received 87 written submissions and heard 24 oral submissions from a range of submitters who reflect the interesting and diverse range of people who care about rail in New Zealand: from the freight and commuter sectors from the commanding heights of our export economy through to those who strongly believe that rail can contribute to the big goal that we have in our cities to move more people with fewer vehicles. The vast majority of submitters were private individuals who wished to express their support for the intent of this bill and our goal of a resilient and reliable rail network. As a result of feedback from submitters the committee has recommended a number of changes to the bill to provide better alignment with regional views and longer long-term planning for rail and I commend the committee for their work on the bill and the improvements they've made in that regard. This bill is not just about financial investment. We also need to change the legacy approach to planning and funding rail. The existing framework for planning and funding the rail network creates uncertainty for rail as a result of annual Budget processes and it separates road and rail investment decisions. It means that proper integrated decision-making that is mode-neutral whether we're talking about moving people through our largest cities or shifting freight efficiently through the country—these decisions currently are made in isolation from each other. The new planning and funding framework follows a partial integration model. Ministers will retain their decision-making rights over rail investment and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency will be responsible for giving Ministers advice on the rail network investment programme. The committee heard from a number of submitters who believed we should go even further and fully integrate rail into the land transport framework. However while the Government is seeking to restore the rail network and revive it it's critical that Ministers are accountable for and have oversight of the investments in the rail network outside of those made through the National Land Transport Fund and have oversight for that funding as well as its commercial assets as the shareholders of KiwiRail. The benefit of partial integration will be that Ministers will take integrated decisions across the rail system and across the transport system on the investments that we need to restore rail. We recognise that we need to increase Crown funding to rail to enable KiwiRail to operate as a commercial business and to ensure that the public benefits are realised for the wider rail network.Now while funding for the rail network will come through the National Land Transport Fund this will also require funding from the Crown and contributions from track users and the ability to establish track user charges by regulation under the Land Transport Act and to pay these into the National Land Transport Fund is a core part of this bill. While maintaining partial integration there are a number of important changes that the select committee has recommended as a result of feedback at the committee.The first is that the bill requires KiwiRail to develop a rail network investment programme that is submitted to the Minister of Transport for approval. KiwiRail is also now required to submit relevant parts of the programme to the Auckland and Wellington regional transport committees where rail plays such an important role in urban rapid transit. The purpose of this is to improve coordinated planning for the metropolitan rail networks in those cities. This can be extended to other regions by ministerial approval if needed in the future—and that's a good thing because there's a lot of work going on right now in places like Canterbury and the Bay of Plenty and in the Waikato about how commuter rail could play a part in their transport systems. Now the bill gives Waka Kotahi the role of giving advice to the Minister on the programme. And this is important to allow Waka Kotahi to apply its robust investment advice framework and knowledge of the broader land transport system. The transport agency is a highly skilled and powerful machine that measures assesses and prioritises a myriad of transport projects through the system and their discipline and focus will be brought to bear on rail investments as a result of this.As a result of feedback from submitters the committee has also recommended a number of other important changes to strengthen the rail network planning process. The planning period for the RNIP the rail network investment programme was too short at only three years. The bill will now align with the six-year planning period of the National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) and the regional land transport programmes. However funding will remain at three years in line with the NLTP. This takes into account the significant investment and long-term focus of rail infrastructure.KiwiRail will also under this amendment be asked or expected to take into account the purpose of the Land Transport Management Act and the Government policy statement on land transport as they develop the rail network investment programme. The committee has also helpfully recommended that in giving its advice on the rail network investment programme Waka Kotahi also provides advice on whether the programme takes into account any relevant regional land transport plan to ensure that there is integration at both the regional and national levels. This was a key theme of many submissions. KiwiRail will work closely with Waka Kotahi to make clear those interdependencies between rail and road projects as well as enable them to work with regional councils. Collectively these changes from the select committee are important to enable a more effective and robust long-term planning framework for rail as an integral part of the land transport planning system. So in conclusion we need to take a better long-term more joined-up strategic approach to rail planning in this country. This bill will secure rail's ability to continue to deliver benefits for New Zealand whether it's freight or whether it's moving people in our largest cities. And it will ensure that we continue to have a rail network that keeps people and markets connected. I commend this bill to the House.