Question time in Parliament today was soporific. I dozed after listening to Ministers batting off questions on the Electoral Finance Bill, so missed Jeanette Fitzsimmon’s question on vehicle exhaust emission standards. Thankfully there is Hansard for the transcript.
To recap, this was Ms Fitzsimmon’s question to the Associate Minister of Transport:
Q. “Does she expect proposed vehicle exhaust emissions standards to reduce the number of premature deaths from air pollution from vehicle exhausts; if so, how many lives does she expect this rule change could save?”
The Minister’s reply was the expected ‘Yes’. What was more interesting was Ms Fitzsimmon’s first supplementary question, and the Minister’s reply:
Q. “Will the Government stand firm on its proposed schedule for emissions standards in the face of industry pressure from both the Imported Motor Vehicle Dealers Association and, more surprisingly, the Consumers Institute of New Zealand, which both seem to believe that cheap cars are more important than saving lives?”
A. “Yes. The Government will stand firm on its proposal to improve the quality of the fleet coming into New Zealand by ensuring emissions standards are put in place. It is notable that the proposals being put up by the used-car dealers are simply aimed at having every sector of the car industry pay the costs, except those who import used cars. We are far too used to having shonky, old, worn-out, “clocked” vehicles brought into this country and foisted on the public; it is time we had some better-quality vehicles.”
Let’s hope the Government holds the line. For too long, New Zealand has imported second hand, clapped out and polluting vehicles from Japan – we’ve become a dumping ground for wrecks. This scheme benefits used car dealers, while the rest of us pay the costs, such as air pollution, traffic congestion, and declining use of public transport.
