Tim Macindoe - ACC

13 December 2018

At a time when the Government is running a television campaign encouraging New Zealanders to purchase safer vehicles, they have also removed the financial incentive for them to do so, says National’s ACC spokesperson, Tim Macindoe.

“The Government is yet again demonstrating its talent for wasting large sums of taxpayers’ money with its blatantly contradictory move of funding a campaign to encourage people to purchase safer cars, while increasing the costs if they do.

“NZTA’s current campaign on our TV screens uses the tag line, ‘The safer the car, the safer they are’, to encourage consumers to protect their children by purchasing vehicles with high safety ratings and features, yet the ACC Minister has just abolished the Vehicle Risk Rating scheme which was introduced several years ago to enhance the safety of our national fleet.

“The Minister has also been disingenuous this week in crowing that overall motor registration costs are not increasing.

“The truth is that 65 per cent of New Zealand vehicle owners will pay more to register their cars next year, and those who have invested in the safest cars - which his own Government pretends to encourage - face the biggest increase, in excess of 150 per cent.

“The Government says its priority is for ‘a safer transport network free of death and injury’ and yet it is placing a higher cost on people who have responded to encouragement to own safer cars. It’s a ridiculously mixed message and road safety campaigners will be justifiably outraged.”

ends

© Scoop Media