“The proposed Land Transport (Clean Vehicle) Amendment Bill is virtue signalling nonsense that will see the Government once again raiding Kiwis back pockets, says ACT’s Transport spokesperson Simon Court.

“The standard is meant to lower New Zealand's carbon emissions, but the policy will fail to reduce a single gram of emissions in the country. Transport emissions are covered by the Emissions Trading Scheme, so reducing one gram in transport simply allows one gram to be emitted somewhere else.

“Worse still, the Motor Industry Association has pointed out that the Bill deviates from reality by setting standards so steep to that only distributors of battery electric vehicles could reach them in the time span set by the Bill.

“This puts New Zealand out of step with comparable countries, even if the policy would result in lower emissions.

“The Motor Industry Association estimated that the combination of fees under the clean car discount and penalties under the clean car standard could see between 15-20 percent increases to the price of light vehicles.

“The rationale for this is either that the Government doesn’t understand its own climate change policies, or it is trying another sneaky revenue grab on New Zealand motorists.

“With the cost of living is increasing at a record pace, the Government pilling on more debt on the next generation of New Zealanders, Grant Robertson spending like a drunken sailor, and new revenue grabs coming at New Zealanders, the last thing we need is a tax on the family car.”

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