NIKKI KAYE (National—Auckland Central) : I support the Road User Charges Amendment Bill. First, I acknowledge Rahui Katene in this House today. What a voice! I think that she did an incredible rendition of “Greased Lightnin’ ”, and I do think that the atmosphere in the Chamber this afternoon is “electric”.
I will also make a response to Carol Beaumont’ speech, in terms of what she said regarding Labour’s manifesto and its strategy to deliver in this area. That is another example where Labour talked a lot but did not deliver, so I am very proud that we are here, delivering on a key election promise regarding electric cars.
We are here today to enable regulations to be made that exempt light electric cars from road-user charges. In summary, we want to get more people into electric cars. I know that the fact has been raised already today that electric cars can be seen as possibly unaffordable for some, but the whole purpose of one of the parts of this bill is to try to make electric cars more affordable. The exemption of electric cars from road-user charges for 4 years will enable us to help to get more people into electric cars. We know that the exemption will come into force on 1 October this year, and will apply until 2013 when the initiatives will be reassessed.
People might ask how much the average person will save from using an electric vehicle. The calculation we have is that an electric vehicle weighing 3.5 tonnes or less costs about $37 per thousand kilometres to run, so the owner of an electric car would be saved about $432 a year, based on an average travelling distance of 12,000 kilometres a year. That is a significant saving over 4 years. It is potentially over $1,600.
The other point I will make is that our Government is very focused on public transport. We heard the announcement today by the Minister of Transport, Steven Joyce, regarding the fact that the Auckland Regional Council and the New Zealand Transport Agency have reached an agreement to advance a range of public transport projects in Auckland that were to have been funded by the Auckland regional fuel tax. Some of those projects include new rail stations at New Lynn, Manukau, Onehunga, Grafton, and Avondale. They will receive a subsidy of up to 60 percent from the New Zealand Transport Agency. That is positive. But I also make the point that although we are all for public transport, private vehicles will be a significant mode of transport in the future. We will see that, moving forward, which is why it is so important that we can encourage the use of alternative fuel technologies to help to meet our environmental obligations over time. The key thing about this bill is that technology can make a significant contribution to improving the efficiency of our vehicle fleet.
That is where the other key benefit comes in, regarding electric cars—the benefit for the environment. We all know that in New Zealand emissions have increased. I made that comment the other day and I know that Mr Hodgson was not happy with me, but he acknowledged the fact that emissions had increased over the last period. They increased in 1990, and we acknowledge that as well. But a key source of those emissions is from transport. The figure I have here is that 40 percent of New Zealand’s carbon dioxide emissions comes from vehicles, so there is real potential there for electric cars to make a huge difference, given that we have an issue in terms of transport emissions, and that we have a bill aimed at ensuring that we try to keep those transport emissions down in the future. I think we are really well-placed as a country to do that with this legislation. The real key benefit here is that it will help us to decrease our reliance on imported fossil fuels and improve our energy security.
The other point I will make is that this legislation is not an isolated measure we are implementing, to enable us to improve our energy security and to decrease our reliance on imported fossil fuels. If we combine the legislation with our competitive advantage in renewable electricity generation—which will help to reduce the greenhouse gases produced by the transport sector, as well as the harmful emissions affecting our air quality—we see a real thrust from the Government aimed at aligning the treatment of electric vehicles with that of biofuels, via the previous announcement we made in respect of bio-diesel and bio-ethanol. The key point is that not only is it a great incentive for New Zealanders who care about the environment to do their bit to reduce emissions but also it is aligned with the rest of our Government policy, such as the previous announcement in respect of bio-diesel and bio-ethanol.
I know that a number of people have made the point this afternoon that this may—in the short term, at least—apply only to a small number of cars. But I do think that the principle is very important. We are moving forward to provide incentives in this area, to enable good technology to be available in New Zealand that will enable us to help to reduce emissions. I note that in February of this year, when the Minister for Climate Change Issues, the Hon Dr Nick Smith, welcomed the announcement that electric cars would be commercially available in New Zealand, he said: “This is the beginning of an exciting energy revolution as significant as the economic transformation from the steam engine to the internal combustion engine more than a century ago.” So it is a bit of a watershed moment, I feel. Even though it applies to what some people might not consider to be a large number of cars, it is a significant moment.
The Minister of Transport has told me that he has an electric car, and I know that he is doing his best to use it well. One thing people tell me when they say they worry about electric cars is that perhaps if they do not charge it—and they have issues around charging their phones—then they might suddenly run out of energy. The Minister has shared with me a little bit of a story that one day happened to him. I call him a bit of a trailblazer; not only is he out there charging up his electric car but he has told me he gets a bit of stick from his son, Logan, who has called it a bit of a nana car. I think that part of the movement, moving forward, is not only to have this great technology but also to enable young people out there to realise that electric cars are not nana cars; they are cool. I know that the Minister of Youth Affairs would agree with me that electric cars are not nana cars, and I am sure that the Minister of Transport will pass that comment on to his son.
The other key aspect of this bill is that it gives 42 days’ notice of any increase in road-user charges to all diesel motor vehicle owners. Giving transport operators 42 days’ notice of a road-user charge increase provides them with time to pass on the cost of any road-user charge increases. This will give the Government the ability to minimise the potential revenue loss caused by the pre-purchasing of road-user charges by the heavy motor vehicle industry, following notification of an increase. In respect of those road-user charge increases, we know there was quite an uproar last year. We were all aware that the truckies were out there protesting when the road-user charge rates were increased without notice, at a time that coincided with pretty high fuel prices. People were pretty upset at the time, and transport operators were unable to pass the increases on to customers straight away. They publicly demonstrated in Auckland. A lot of people—and I remember this—were tooting at the time, and they were pretty upset with the Labour Government. For heavy motor vehicle operators, road-user charges represent a major cost of doing business. Changes in road-user charge rates that cannot be passed on to customers in a timely manner will significantly decrease marginal profitability. This 42-day notification will improve businesses’ ability to operate, by providing them with time to pass on the cost of any road-user charge increases. I make the point that this is positive, particularly as I am sure many truckies out there will see this as a very positive aspect, in terms of this bill.
In conclusion, I tell the House that this bill is aligned with the rest of the National Government’s policy, both in terms of public transport and of the environment. I am very proud to be here standing up for electric cars. They are cool cars, not nana cars. I look forward, hopefully, to one day being able to afford to have an electric car. This is great legislation, and I commend the Ministers involved in it. Thank you.
