Protest convoy rolls into CBD

A convoy of Auckland truckies battled peak hour traffic to protest against the price of fuel.

Trucking company RNB Transport sent about 100 trucks from the North Shore suburb of Silverdale to Fanshawe St, along the northern motorway, yesterday morning.

They parked for 20 minutes in central Auckland before police asked them to move on, protest organiser Rob Ryan said.

‘‘It caused a a lot of traffic buildup behind us, but that’s what we wanted.’’

Ryan said the protest was about getting the Government to ‘‘notice us’’.

‘‘There is power in numbers and if there is enough of us they will have to listen, if we have to do it again in another month we will.

‘‘We have had enough of all these increases.’’

A police spokesperson confirmed they had cordons in place as well as units monitoring the protest.

‘‘There was no unlawful activity so no need for police to intervene.’’

Petrol prices have hit record highs this year, after the Government’s latest 3.5c excise tax increase and Auckland Council’s 11.5c regional fuel tax.

Ryan said truckies weren’t the only ones feeling the burn from the fuel tax. ‘‘When the price of fuel goes up everything goes up with it – food becomes more expensive and people have had enough of it.

‘‘This is bigger than just the trucking industry, many Kiwis rely on fuel to get to work.’’

Last week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the Government would rush through changes to the Commerce Act to allow the Commerce Commission to investigate the margins on fuel.

The legislation was not expected to be completed until late this year or possibly in 2019.

Earlier this month AA spokesman Mark Stockdale said the sharp rise in petrol prices had left some motorists angry.

‘‘Motorists are getting quite angry and they’re wanting something done about it.’’

A nationwide ‘‘petrol boycott’’ is planned for October 26.