Brett Hudson - Transport

22 August 2019

Motorists’ back pockets aren’t safe from the Associate Transport Minister who today refused to rule out any further increases to transport taxes, National’s Associate Transport spokesperson Brett Hudson says.

“After claiming in Parliament that her Government was ‘very transparent’ about planned increases to transport taxes, Julie Anne Genter dodged a question about whether more were on the way.

“It was only after the Speaker of the House intervened that she admitted the Government could not rule it out.

“Even after imposing more than $1 billion in new taxes nationwide over the next three years, on top of a $1.5b Auckland Regional Fuel Tax, the Government is still desperate for more ways to hit New Zealanders in the wallet.

“Recently released documents from Treasury show the National Land Transport Fund is almost fully subscribed over the next decade, meaning there is no money left for the roading projects our regions desperately need.

“Yet the Government can still find billions – paid for from fuel taxes – for expensive and inefficient tram projects in Auckland and Wellington, even though they either can’t or won’t release the business cases for these.

“This is a Government that is ideologically opposed to cars and roads, and simply doesn’t care that the taxes they have imposed are fleecing New Zealanders at the pump.

“If elected in 2020, National will scrap the regional fuel tax on Aucklanders, which is being spread around the country, and there will be no new excise taxes.”

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