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The Government says it needs more money for its transport projects, as it plans new highway and bus projects.
Announcing a new land transport plan, Transport Minister David Parker proposed raising the fuel tax by 12 cents a litre over the next three years. The hike would be staggered in 2 cent and then 4 cent increments. Road user charges would also increase.
The first fuel tax rise, 2 cents, would take place mid-2024.
Parker said there was no way to avoid lifting road charges and the petrol excise duty, which partially funds Waka Kotahi NZTA.
Ricky Wilson/Stuff
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Transport Minister David Parker released the Government Policy Statement (GPS) on land transport beside a railway project in South Auckland.
“It’s minor, and it’s necessary,” he said.
The road user charge and fuel tax increases were expected to raise an extra $1.4 billion over the next three years, Parker said.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the increased charges would be affordable. He said it would cost most households no more than $1 a week.
“We recognise as a Government that you have to fund the roads somehow. Other parties are saying you can have all of these new transport projects and not have to pay for them. Ultimately if we want better roading infrastructure, we have to pay for that,” he said.
That would only pay for a smidgen of the $5.3b increase to the land transport fund which Parker proposed.
The Government would pull from the general taxation pull, taking $2.9b, and the Climate Emergency Response Fund, to get $500 million, to fund the transport projects. The remainder, $3.1b, would come from a Crown loan.
ROBERT KITCHIN/Stuff
Transport Minister David Parker has released the Government’s land transport plan.
This funding boost represented a 34% boost to the land transport fund, giving it a budget of $21b until 2027. Parker said this was the biggest increase the fund had ever seen.
Transport spokesperson Simeon Brown said National would not raise fuel taxes until inflation was below 3%.
The Reserve Bank’s latest monetary policy statement, released this week, forecast inflation to fall below 3% in the second half of next year – around the time the Government has proposed starting its fuel tax hikes.
Brown called this plan was a “cynical” cut and paste of National’s transport policy.
“Labour has cut and pasted transport projects from National’s Transport for the Future policy released last month, including the Cambridge to Piarere expressway, the Woodend Bypass, and a second Ashburton Bridge, in a cynical attempt to fool New Zealanders into thinking that they care about building roads,” he said, in a statement.
Ryan Anderson/Stuff
National says the Government’s copy and pasted its land transport plan.
Green Party transport spokesperson Julie Anne Genter called the Government’s transport plan “irresponsible”.
“Funnelling billions into building more roads, instead of investing in low carbon transport options like regional rail, shows Labour are not serious about climate change,” she said.
She said what the Government was investing into public transport wouldn’t be enough to “change the dial” and get people out of cars.
The policy statement did include spending on railways, busways, and cycleways.
BRUCE MACKAY/The Post
Green transport spokesperson Julie Anne Genter called the land transport plan irresponsible.
It included plans to build a Northwest busway in Auckland, which Parker said could – in the future – be expanded to take light rail. $3.6b was dedicated to public transport. A further $1.2b would be spent on the heavy rail network.
Just $500m was ring-fenced for cycling and walking, which would be funded exclusively from the climate change fund.
Roads and state highways would receive $9.6b, with most of it going towards road maintenance.
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