Labour has promised it will not raise fuel taxes across the next Parliamentary term. That’s a basic cost-of-living politics move.
But it’s going to hurt the transport system.
There is already a shortage of funding this year of up to $300m, and lots of projects are in trouble unless they are a RONS.
For those who need more transport funding in their area whether for public transport subsidies or for new transport projects, this is a big problem.
It’s also something of a cultural shock to come.
We should all know by now that the government will shift from petrol taxes to every single vehicle having to pay Road User Charges like diesel vehicles do already.
That’s every single one of us, in time, with a RUC account. In return for wiping fuel taxes out.
The legislation was passed for this in 2026 and will begin rollout next year and 2028.
There is also a big problem in funding coming up due to how NZTA is going to pay debt back.
There may well be more Crown investment straight to NZTA to come, but there’s grounds for skepticism as any future government wrestles with its consistent gap between expenditure and its income.
Labour may intend in part to make up the big funding shortfall with congestion charging in Auckland. Auckland at least, in time more cities will get it.
That’s billions and billinos of revenue on the state highway network’s busiest points, driven from a system that is also driving behavioural change.
It will still take a couple of years to get this transport revenue going.
But it’s going to happen, probably late next term, and it is a big way a Hipkins government can control fuel-price driven inflation as he has promised.
Intended outcome:
More transport system expenditure, more effective driver behaviour change, with more transport income.
Anon