Mark Ron: Land Transport (Unauthorised Street and Drag Racing) Amendment Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
Mark Ron: Land Transport (Unauthorised Street and Drag Racing) Amendment Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:607;Page:4596] 
RON MARK (NZ First) 
: 
 I thank the Hon Dr Nick Smith for that comment. I did take the opportunity to confer with the Minister and with Mr Cosgrove. When one goes back to the original bill as drafted one sees that it was very prescriptive in terms of offences and the sentences that might have been available to be used by the judiciary. 
What does get a little confusing is that when one reads through Part 1 of the schedule one sees that it specifies the amendments to the Sentencing Act. That legislation is a timely jogger because it serves to remind us how far we have progressed with some of the land transport safety law and gave me cause to go back a little further and remind myself of what happened in 1998. Many of the Acts we are now using to supplement and complement this legislation are ones we have passed previously and that is what I was reminded of. So I say to the Committee is it not curious how far we have come? 
I congratulate the Labour Party—I really do. The heart and soul of the effectiveness of this bill lies in the ability within the schedule of the police to be able to impound vehicles. That is the deterrent. That is the punitive measure. The next step for those recidivist offenders who just cannot get their heads around it and learn from the first time is to confiscate the vehicles sell them and recover that money into the coffers. It might help ACT party members to know that those outstanding fines they have talked about all through the evening might in some way be addressed through the sale of those confiscated vehicles which belonged to the recidivist offenders who could not get it into their thick skulls that burning out at McLeans Island is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated any more. But we would never have got to this point without the Labour Party—or at least without elements of it—accepting that this bill is necessary. At this point in time it is timely to remind the Committee of how far that party has come because on 5 November 1998 the Labour Party voted against the impoundment of vehicles. That was legislation put up by New Zealand First. 
Clayton Cosgrove does not know how far he has moved his party. Senior Cabinet Ministers who have passed over him for positions of higher authority higher salary and all the perks and privileges voted against the very principles he advanced to this Parliament. That says a lot for the member. It also says a heck of a lot about his senior colleagues who gave countless speeches—they are in the  
Hansard 
 volumes I have here—and on 5 November voted against the Land Transport Bill which gave provision for the impounding of— 
Hon Lianne Dalziel 
: Tell me why—read it out. 
RON MARK 
: The Minister who is so highly paid can stand take a 5-minute call and tell us all the reason. I will just point out that the Ayes were 72 and the Noes were 48. Labour voted 37 against the bill the Alliance voted 10 against the bill and some other chap by the name of Kirton voted against the bill. It was the passing of that bill that finally gave the police the powers to impound vehicles and now we are going to the next logical sensible step in respect of hoons boy racers clowns and idiots on the road who would burn up their tyres and create public nuisance and public disturbance. 
Once again I thank Mr Swain the Minister and Clayton Cosgrove for pointing out that the Sentencing Act contains that area but maybe the Minister would like to stand and take a call merely to clarify for us all and again help the Committee to understand why Labour voted against the impounding of vehicles in 1998. Lianne Dalziel is obviously very upset by the whole thing despite the fact that she voted against that bill. It would probably help us all to become a little more enlightened once again. I know what the  
Hansard 
 record says but if there is a new modern-day reason Labour members should feel free to tell us what it is.