AARON GILMORE (National) : Boy racers—hoons, skangers, barryboys, scobes, rice burners, or whatever they are called in whichever corner of the world—are trouble. The first role of Government is to keep people safe in their homes—those were the words of Barack Obama just last week. This National-led Government, led by the most popular Prime Minister in a generation, will do something about it.
East Christchurch, where I live, has had a few issues with these people. I say “people” because we all know that women can be labelled as boy racers and can belong to the boy-racer cult. Boy racers are not always young. Few 18-year-olds can afford the $10,000 to $20,000 cost of car modifications on the vehicles that I have seen. This cult of thuggery is one we need to do something about.
My family has been involved for many years with all forms of petrolhead behaviour. We enjoy the pleasurable growl of a V8, the fine purr of a Harley Davidson, and the sheer, unadulterated ecstasy of being behind the wheel, or under the bonnet, of a Ford GTO or an AC Cobra Shelby. [Interruption] I understand that even the Speaker of the House suffers from a similar affliction! Most of my uncles and aunts have raced on the dirt tracks of the speedway or on the tarmac at Ruapuna. They are all crazy hot-rodders. Nearly everyone in the family, which numbers over 100, has been behind the wheel, part of the pit crew, or—like my mum—just a screamer in the crowds. I am told that petrol runs through our veins. In fact, one of my jobs as a student was a warrant of fitness mechanic, helping drivers to go faster while staying within the law.
The law changes proposed by the Minister of Police, Judith Collins, will not impact on such good old-fashioned lovers of cars, or on the law-abiding petrolheads up and down this country. However, the muppets who talk about pimping up their cars to race, who think that doing the Moorhouse Avenue lap at 2 a.m. makes them are cool, hip, or rad, and who boast of their best drift are simply wrong and definitely are a public nuisance. I say to those people that they should get some real testicles. They should get off the road and compete with real drivers on the track. I bet they are not man enough to try to do it. The real big mouths I have seen trying to drive on a track fall flat on their faces and end up hitting a wall, with the really skilled drivers and other car-racing New Zealanders laughing at them.
New Zealand has a culture that is driven by movies such as The Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift, and by racing video games such as The Need for Speed. Things are done in controlled environments on a movie set, but our young people think they can do the same anywhere, at any time. I grew up respecting the skill and ability of car drivers, and the ability of people who modified vehicles to race. These are important skills, but the place for them is not on the streets but on the track.
When it comes to throwing bottles at our police, reckless speeding that endangers others, and horrific noise outside the homes of the good, law-abiding people of Christchurch—or any other part of New Zealand—I say “Enough!”, and this Government says “Enough!”. We will give the police more powers to do something about it. Although the member for Waimakariri is not in the House at the moment, he calls it window dressing—
Hon Darren Hughes: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker.
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Rick Barker): I think I can anticipate the point of order.
Hon Darren Hughes: You anticipated correctly. The member should not refer to the absence of honourable members from the House. Otherwise, the issue goes round and round.
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Rick Barker): The point of order is quite correct. The member will not refer to the absence or otherwise of members from the House.
Hon Anne Tolley: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. While we are on the matter of the Standing Orders, I thought there was a Standing Order that relates to eating in the House. When the previous point of order was raised I noticed that the member had difficulty actually making his point, because he was chewing.
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Rick Barker): Well, we could be picky about that. Members are allowed the odd mint. I am not sure whether the member has one or two, but let us carry on with the debate.
AARON GILMORE: We will give the police more powers, and if that means that we take some lunatics off the streets and make our families feel safer in their homes, then I say “Good on us!”. We will do that so that the good people of Christchurch can sleep safely in their homes and get a decent night’s sleep. If it means we have to crush a few cars, I say we should go for it. I understand that 10 cars would have been crushed in 2007 if these proposed laws had been in place. There is ample allowance to keep people within the law, and those people who want to stay within the law—out of the thousands of drivers—can learn the break points that may exist for them in terms of falling outside the law.
This measure will stop people hiding from the issue by selling their vehicles to somebody else. I would like to see a few more steps taken as part of these laws. We might be able to auction off the rights to push the button to crush the first car—and I would be happy to be in line to do so. In fact, this could perhaps be a profit-making enterprise. We could have a new State-owned enterprise—“Crusher Co.”, perhaps. I know that I am not the only person in the blogosphere who would be in favour of this.
I look forward to a situation, in few years’ time, where decent New Zealanders have peace and quiet in their homes in suburbia because of the hard work of our Minister of Police, Judith Collins, and our Minister of Transport, Steven Joyce. I look forward to members on the other side of the House sitting back and saying that their homes are peaceful and quiet because of the laws National brought in to take lunatics off the streets.
Our Government has aspirations for the future, and I look forward to this happening. I want to be able to sit in my bed at night with my young children and know I will not have some idiot driving up and down my street at 95 decibels—or whatever the case may be—annoying my family, or anybody else, and showing intimidating behaviour towards our police. |