Fuel tax unlikely for Manawatu¯ road users
‘‘There have got to be other ways of doing things.’’
Rangit¯ıkei MP Ian Mckelvie
Manawatu¯ politicians are uninterested in applying a regional fuel tax, saying there are better ways to fund roading projects.
The Government has put a bill before Parliament, which would let regional councils apply to have a maximum of 10 cents a litre added to the price of fuel to fund transport projects.
Any tax would last 10 years, although an extension could be applied for.
Although most of the rhetoric from politicians has focused on Auckland, the bill will allow other councils to apply for a tax, from 2021.
Hamilton and Christchurch councils have already been given the hard word from the Government about not getting a fuel tax until then.
Horizons Regional Council chairman Bruce Gordon, who also chairs the regional transport committee, said the council was yet to talk about the tax.
However, he did not think it would be an effective way to raise funds.
The size of the region, going from Horowhenua in the south to Ruapehu in the north, taking in everywhere between Whanganui and Tararua, would make it wrong to tax all ratepayers.
‘‘To me, fuel is already very highly taxed in this country. How much more can we afford?’’
He would prefer to see toll roads on big projects, such as the proposed regional freight ring road, as it was a more even way to spread the financial load.
A regional fuel tax made more sense in places like Auckland and Wellington, he said.
But wider Manawatu¯ and Whanganui did have transport problems.
The resilience of State Highway 4 from Whanganui to Taumarunui was ‘‘not too clever’’, while Palmerston North had its own problems, Gordon said.
‘‘Tremaine Ave can be absolutely diabolical at times.’’
Rangitı¯kei MP Ian Mckelvie said a fuel tax was not the answer for dealing with roading problems in his electorate, which stretches from Himatangi to Mt Ruapehu.
Much of the traffic in the region was freight being transported across the North Island, or people travelling through, which contributed little to the economy aside from the odd tank of petrol, he said.
‘‘We are not the source of the transport problems.’’
But Mckelvie did acknowledge roads still needed to be paid for, leaving the region between a rock and a hard place.
Most of the funding came from rates, but that made life hard for certain communities.
Mckelvie said that was obvious in Manawatu¯ this year, as the district council proposes upping rates by as much as 23.5 per cent for some rural residents, as a big chunk of that was for roading.
‘‘Even if you don’t drive a car, you significantly contribute to the road rates.’’
The challenges could grow as people start taking up electric cars, as they would get around any fuel tax.
‘‘There have got to be other ways of doing things.’’