Speech: 'Cruising and the consequences: Boy Racer legislation' - Tariana Turia

Land Transport (Enforcement Powers) Amendment Bill

Hon Tariana Turia

Tuesday 2 June 2009; 5.30pm

 

Tena tatou katoa. I would like to join with some of my other colleagues in the House and congratulate Metiria Turei on her appointment as co-leader of the Green Party. Tena koe, Metiria.

 

This Bill introduces a new offence – the offence of cruising. Of course, cruising is not a new phenomenon.

 

Even in my day, there was a fascination for the young, in driving hotted up cars, through the main street.

 

Of course it all depended on what you were driving –Mum’s morris minor hardly stacked up against a Mark II Zephyr but there’s also a big difference between idling down the avenue in second gear and the horrific speeds and risk-taking behaviour that we are responding to in this Bill.

 

This Bill responds to the alarming data that in the period between 2003 and 2007, there was an average of 101 crashes per year from street racing and related activities. The estimated social cost of such offending was over thirty million dollars. We should not minimize this behaviour or this issue.

 

From those crashes we have a roll-call that must be attended to. An average of ten deaths; 46 serious injuries and 125 minor injuries each year, every year.

 

Those deaths have resulted from the sheer reckless disregard for human life and about ten people every year have lost their lives because of the illegal street racing that has been going on for far too long.

 

Mr Speaker, when it comes down to it, if the choice is the destruction of a car or the loss of a human life; there is no choice.

 

There are vital public safety issues at the core of this debate which we cannot ignore.

 

The Maori Party is pleased that this House is giving the time to this issue to ensure no more injuries, no more deaths result from illegal street racing.

 

This Bill amends the Land Transport Act to increase the powers available to councils and police, to disrupt, deter, apprehend and prosecute drivers who are street driving.

 

By far the most vivid representation of why such a Bill is necessary was seen just last week in Christchurch when a hundred-strong group of young boy racers threatened a lone female security guard; surrounding her; smashing the windows on her car; and causing general havoc at Christchurch International Airport.

 

The attack occurred at 10.30pm in the middle of a routine check on behalf of the Aviation Security Service. I can only imagine the fear that woman must have felt when her vehicle was blocked in, windows smashed, and she was then attacked.

 

I want to raise the question about why this subculture appears to have taken root in Christchurch. The Bill fails to throw any light as to the psychology or the profile of these boy racers – the remedy is focused instead on a punishment for the vehicles they drive.

 

And yet there are many questions left unanswered as to the nature of the membership of this community.

 

I am curious as to why there appears to be a disproportionate amount of offending taking place of this nature on South Island roads.

 

In the top eight areas in which Police received complaints regarding boy racers, four were in Christchurch city alone; and the other in Nelson. The only areas in the North Island that appeared to be problem areas were the Auckland motorways, Henderson and Tauranga.

 

Then when we break down the total number of fines handed out by police in the last twelve months between March 2008 and 2009 the results are quite staggering. For the offence of operating a motor vehicle causing sustained loss of traction while there were only 89 such offences recorded in Greater Auckland; there were a massive 342 offences recorded in Canterbury.

 

The phenomenon is even more curious when we learn that these racers are predominantly male; aged between 16 and 28, employed and middle class. They are also often without a criminal history, although they have received a growing number of fines for driving offences. However, I suggest that some of the results of their behaviour and drinking have certainly been criminal.

 

Even more of interest to the Maori Party, is the analysis from Paul Beere of Waikato University who suggests that there is no distinctive dress, music, political stance, socio-economic group or other readily identifiable badges to mark these individuals.

 

In fact, if no-one noticed, the only usual variable missing from this list is that of ethnicity – which one would think would be worthy of note.

 

In an article in the Press earlier year, Boy Racers: What makes them tick, a direct association was made with what the article referred to as a skinhead white pride group.

 

That article suggested that conflict was brewing amongst that community in reaction to tighter policing. Conflict which erupted in open hostilities in Wigram in late January this year, when a lone policeman was targeted by several hundred boy racers, bottling his patrol car and taking potshots with an air rifle.

 

The anti-social nature of these pack attacks goes beyond horrifying.

 

We are not talking about recreational activities, or young boys playing around with an imitation Grand Prix. As Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker declares, this is embarrassing and ugly.

 

Our greatest concern must surely be that these cowardly attacks on individuals will escalate and when combined with alcohol consumption, stunt driving and excessive speed, we could be looking at horrendous injuries and large-scale damage – and we have heard about a lot of the horrendous injuries in this debate.

 

So we welcome this Bill – in so much as we welcome any interventions which will assist in protecting public safety and indeed, in protecting these young people from themselves.

 

In addition to the new offence of cruising; there is a raft of legislation to give councils the powers to create bylaws in relation to illegal street racing and cruising.

 

Yet the spectacle of boy-racing is so region-specific, that I actually had to ring my son to find out where the boyracing circuits in Whanganui were located.

 

His response was reassuring, even if it raised more questions.

 

He told me that although there were definitely groups of young people in Whanganui that might constitute this category, apart from a few fast drives at the top of the avenue, it was not really commonplace. There is the odd wheelspin on the grassed areas out at the beach where I live, but very little of this behaviour goes on – thankfully.

 

His answer left me wondering about the need for such wide-ranging bylaws and powers of seizure and for impounding for cars breaching street racing and cruising bylaws, when it appears the extent of the problem across the land is variable.

 

But even more puzzling to me, is that whilst all the additional provisions introduced in this Bill will inevitably impact on the tools of the trade for the boyracer industry, can we be convinced that it will really create the enduring solutions we need?

 

Questions that we will be seeking to find answered during the select committee stage of this Bill, is what are the outcomes that we seek to ensure boy racers are prevented from offending?

 

How will we support these young people to desist from using their cars as a vehicle for self-destruction?

 

How will we support the families of these young people to encourage them to take active responsibility not just for their passengers but also for those who may come into their path?

 

How do we invest in communities to develop enduring solutions to create environments in which boy racer traffic offending is no longer viable?

 

The Maori Party will support this Land Transport (Enforcement Powers) Amendment Bill through to select committee, in the hope that these more complex issues will be able to be explored. Kia ora.