11. PETER BROWN (NZ First) Link to this
to the Minister of Transport
Is the report Managing transport challenges when oil prices rise going to be adopted as Government policy; if so, why?
Hon ANNETTE KING (Minister of Transport) Link to this
No; the Government has recently released the New Zealand Transport Strategy, which sets out its policies for transport. This research report was commissioned by the New Zealand Transport Agency to provide further information on potential impacts of changing oil prices on New Zealand’s medium to long term transport needs. The New Zealand Transport Agency regularly commissions and publishes research of interest in the transport sector. The findings of this report are the findings of the research company alone.
Noting those comments, how can this report be taken seriously when it ignores completely any uptake of new vehicle technology, and goes on to state: “Should the uptake of improved vehicle technology reduce the sensitivity of travel demands to high fuel prices then the results of this report may need to be re-evaluated,”; how the dickens can it be taken seriously?
As I said, the New Zealand Transport Agency regularly commissions and publishes research. Not everybody agrees with the research that is undertaken, and obviously this is the report of the research company alone. Any research that is done in relation to the Government’s policy statement, and in relation to our strategy, will relate to the goals that we wish to achieve.
Does the Minister share my view that it is much better to have a report that shows some faith in human resource, initiative, and innovation, than to undertake an exercise that evaluates the situation when we do have cars appearing on our roads that operate under improved technology and not powered by petrol or diesel, and thereby not paying terribly much into the National Land Transport Fund?
Can I assure the member that a lot of work is being done on the use of new technologies, and I would not get too worried about this particular research report. I think the work that has been done by my colleague David Parker, and by Jeanette Fitzsimons in her own area, will be more significant in terms of new technology than any comments in this report.
Gerry BrownleeCan the Minister confirm that there are only 36 electric cars registered for use on the roads in New Zealand, that those 36 cars are rated as if they were diesel vehicles and are therefore required to pay road-user charges at the same rate as a diesel vehicle, and does she think that the failure of the Government’s desire to see more electric vehicles on the road is because the policy from the Government does not encourage it?
No, quite the contrary. The Government does encourage it, and has set the goal to be the first country in the world to have a large number of electric vehicles. However, the member is not very informed about electric vehicles, because it is very new and cutting-edge technology. We are seeing some of the first electric cars being produced on a mass basis in Japan, and I believe we will see more of those cars here. But I have to say to the member that whether vehicles are powered by diesel or petrol, eventually every vehicle will have to pay for the use of the road, because no matter how they are generated in terms of energy, they still use the road, and I do not believe that, in the long term, New Zealanders would want to see one lot of road users paying for the use of the road and another lot not.