Government proposals for vehicle pollution welcomed

The Auckland Regional Council welcomes the Hon Judith Tizard’s announcement that the government is developing a number of programmes to address vehicle emissions.

Judith Tizard met with ARC chair Gwen Bull on Friday to discuss the government’s proposed actions.

“We congratulate government on finally taking up the cudgels for people’s health in relation to motor vehicle pollution,” said Gwen Bull. “Vehicle pollution in Auckland is a major public health issue.”

“We believe that education of vehicle owners is important, but this does not replace the need for regulations to create a level playing field and to effectively capture the worst 10% of smoky vehicles,” said Cr Bull.

Cr Bull noted that ARC’s recent vehicle emissions testing with the Drive-by Emissions Testing programme shows that average emissions are two to three times worse than vehicles tested in the USA.

After testing 40,000 vehicles in the programme, ARC found that 10% of vehicles are causing 50% of the pollution.

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