Madam Speaker, I move that the Land Transport Management Amendment Bill 2007 now be read a first time.

Madam Speaker, it is my intention to move, at the appropriate time, that the Land Transport Management Amendment Bill be referred to the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee for consideration, and that the Committee report by 25 March 2008, and that the Committee have the authority to meet at any time while the House is sitting, except during oral questions, and during any evening on a day on which there has been a sitting of the House, and on a Friday of a week in which there has been a sitting of the House, and outside the Wellington area during a sitting of the House, despite Standing Orders 192, 194 (a) and 195 (1) (b) and (c).

The Land Transport Management Act 2003 fundamentally shifted the way land transport in New Zealand is funded and managed.

Madam Speaker, I am now pleased to be introducing this amendment to the Land Transport Management Act and associated legislation.

The Bill arises primarily from a number of reviews into the land transport sector aimed at improving value for the massive financial investment the Government is making into land transport.

In particular, the Next Steps review of the New Zealand land transport sector identified a number of issues that needed to be addressed.

The Bill addresses the issues raised in those reviews, and provides a mechanism for regions to accelerate capital works through a regional fuel tax, if they wish to.

Government policy statement

The Bill provides for a government policy statement or GPS to provide additional strategic guidance to the land transport sector.

The New Zealand Transport Agency, replacing the existing Crown entities Land Transport New Zealand and Transit New Zealand, will give effect to the GPS when it develops and manages each new three yearly National Land Transport Programme. Other land transport stakeholders will need to incorporate the GPS into their decision making.

For many years, our land transport planning and funding system has been based on an annual cycle. Because the proposed the National Land Transport Programme will only need to be produced every three years, compliance costs will be reduced, and certainty will be increased.

Regional planning

The government also proposes to change how territorial authorities, regional councils and others plan their land transport projects and services.

This Bill means that land transport projects and services will be consulted on at the regional level by all the agencies responsible for funding and delivering land transport activities. This will facilitate the development of integrated transport packages.

The new Regional Land Transport Programmes will be put together by Regional Land Transport Committees. The committees will need to prioritise land transport activities for their regions, including State highways, with some exceptions.

The GPS will ensure that national priorities such as preserving the State highway network and enhancing public transport services are maintained.

Local road maintenance and minor capital activities, as well as existing public transport services, will be included in Regional Land Transport Programmes but not prioritised by the region. This reflects the need to recognise local government autonomy and accountability.

I propose giving greater legislative guidance to the membership of the Regional Land Transport Committees. Some committees have become large and unwieldy. Each committee will have two representatives from the relevant regional council, one from each territorial authority, and one from the New Zealand Transport Agency.

Reflecting current arrangements, there will also be one member to represent each of the five New Zealand Transport Strategy objectives and one to represent cultural interests.

These six members will participate in discussions on Regional Land Transport Programmes and will vote on Regional Land Transport Strategies.

In regions where there are unitary authorities (Gisborne, Tasman, Nelson and Marlborough), the membership arrangements need to be different but will reflect the general scheme for other regions.

Transport structures in Auckland will be reflected by the different arrangements for Regional Land Transport Programmes there. This means the Auckland Regional Transport Authority will be responsible for developing Auckland’s Regional Land Transport Programme.

We are also leaving the Regional Land Transport Committee membership requirements in Auckland unchanged while the Auckland governance proposals develop.

National Land Transport Strategy and Regional Land Transport Strategies

This Bill will consolidate all land transport planning provisions into one Act. We are also extending the planning horizon of land transport strategies to 30 years to reflect the long term nature of transport planning. The strategies will be reviewed every six years rather than every three years.

Establishment of the New Zealand Transport Agency

The creation of the New Zealand Transport Agency will integrate decision making and improve accountability. The new entity will be a Crown Agent as defined under the Crown Entities Act 2004. It will have all the functions that Land Transport New Zealand and Transit New Zealand currently have, except for the power to declare and revoke State highways, which will become the responsibility of the Chief Executive of the Ministry of Transport.

The functions of the Director of Land Transport, which cover a number of regulatory licensing and law enforcement roles, will also be transferred to the Board of the new Agency.

Because the new Agency will both deliver its own projects and services and fund the activities of others, the government has been mindful in the Bill of the need for robust accountability arrangements.

The new GPS and regional prioritisation will also play a role in ensuring accountability. The GPS will establish the amount of funding available to be allocated to all activity classes including State highways.

The Agency will not be able to fund projects and services that are not contained in a Regional Land Transport Programme with the exception of some nationally led programmes such as road policing and research, education and training.

Reserving fuel excise for land transport

The government proposes that all fuel excise duty obtained from motorists will be reserved for land transport purposes. This will ensure the public see what they are getting from the petrol excise duty and road user charges they pay.

The bill also allows the Minister of Transport and the Minister of Finance to allocate fuel excise revenue received from pleasure boat users to activities such as maritime search and rescue, boating safety education, and maritime safety services.

Regional fuel tax

The Bill will allow regions to levy regional fuel taxes in order to allow regions to bring forward capital projects, should they wish to. Limiting the use of regional fuel taxes to capital assets will ensure that the public understands the purpose of the tax and provides an end date for the tax. The tax will be limited to up to ten cents per litre of petrol or diesel, with a limit of five cents per litre to be spent on roading.

The Auckland region would be able to identify up to five cents per litre worth of projects, and the Ministers of Finance and Transport could identify an additional five cents worth of regional land transport projects, within the ten cent regional limit.

Regional Land Transport Committees will be required to prepare and consult on proposed regional fuel tax schemes. Once the regional council is satisfied with the proposed scheme, it must be lodged with the Minister of Transport and the Minister of Finance. The Ministers may then decide to recommend to the Governor-General the making of an Order in Council to approve the scheme.

Once a regional fuel tax has been introduced in a region, wholesale distributors would make payments to the New Zealand Transport Agency.

The Agency would be responsible for refunding commercial non-road fuel users, and for distributing the net revenue to the agencies responsible for projects under the relevant scheme.

State highway and revenue guarantees

The revenue guarantee for the National Land Transport Programme and the funding guarantee for the State highway construction programme announced in 2006 will no longer be required in the new planning system.

This is because a high level of certainty on overall funding levels and activity class levels will be provided through the GPS, a new system for adjusting fuel excise duties and road user charges, and the ability for the National Land Transport Programme to go into deficit.

Conclusion

The measures set out in this Bill will allow New Zealand’s land transport system to move forward in a fully integrated manner. I urge members to support the Bill.

I commend the Bill to the House.