The Transport and Industrial Relations select committee has released its report on the Land Transport Amendment Bill with a recommendation that it be passed with amendments.

The bill would amend the Land Transport Act 1998 in a number of ways:

• Strengthening the legislation covering alcohol interlocks;
• Giving enforcement officers, other than Police, new powers when dealing with fare evasion on public transport;
• Increasing the penalties for drivers who fail to stop for Police and strengthening Police powers to impound vehicles involved in failing-to-stop incidents;
• Updating the heavy vehicle regulations to align with recent changes to the Land Transport Rule: Vehicle Dimensions and Mass 2016;
• Updating the regulatory system for small passenger services;
• Making minor amendments to the Land Transport Act to clarify interpretations of the legislation and improve its operation.

The committee has recommended changing the title of the bill to Land Transport Amendment Bill (No 2) because there has already been a Land Transport Amendment Bill during this Parliament.

The committee also noted the report of the Attorney-General under section 7 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 on the bill. The Attorney-General concluded that clause 35 of the bill was inconsistent with section 21 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. The committee says it has amended the clause - which relates to fleeing drivers -to address the inconsistency.

The bill was referred to the committee on 15 September 2016 with submissions closing on 27 October 2017. The committee received 79 submissions and heard from 32 submitters.