Transport Minister Annette King announced the increase in road user charges (RUC) on Monday, and they came into effect on Tuesday.
This angered truck companies who wanted notice so they could pre-purchase charge vouchers.
[...]
Car users paid for the roading system every time they bought petrol, those with diesel only paid through the charges and these had not risen to cover the costs created by trucks, Ms King said.
The increase means that for a small diesel car it will cost $3.28 more to drive 1000km, or $32.80 more for an average year's motoring of 10,000km.
For a larger vehicles, such as a three tonne SUV, it will cost an extra $49.20 per 10,000km.
A typical five tonne truck will pay an additional $53.80 per 10,000km, while a 23 tonne four-axle truck can expect to pay an additional $198.
I recall some irritation over the whole discounting issue a while back - the big firms got a better deal than the small operators - that was the gist. Any extra cost is an added drama, but I don't think the government will be in the mood for a "fart tax" type reversal.
Romantic, anti-establishment sentiments.
But it's the big firms who are really behind this. They are the ones with the most to lose. And some, like the spokesman, have the most to gain:
"We are doing it on behalf of the people of New Zealand because we have had enough."
The Road Transport Forum is promising protests in other centres including Tauranga, Hamilton, Rotorua and Wellington.
Chief executive Tony Friedlander - another former National minister - said carriers were outraged
Outraged as Auckland motorists - not being the most polite drivers in the world - outraged at how they might react... badly to stuffing up the start of the day is how. Then again... great excuse to arrive late. Unless you catch the train.... in which case you'll be running late regardless.
I have some sympathy for those who have to pay the Crown money just to make a living, to operate a business; and I have some aversion toward the array of taxation opportunities the Crown has of getting one of their agencies (police, local councils, LTSA, ACC etc.) into the revenue gathering loop. Administering the number plates shouldn't cost $500 a year!
The LTSA website says:Registration is the initial recording of a vehicle on the Motor Vehicle Register, and the issuing of registration plates.
[...] Most vehicles will only be registered once, but if they have been significantly modified or rebuilt, or their registration has been cancelled, they will have to be reregistered.
And yet you don't pay an initial fee that was done only once. No, no - you have to pay every year, or even twice a year.
So, as a non-motorist, I acknowledge and have sympathy for the plight of the nation's driving population. Usually it's not fair. This case though - the one they are protesting about tomorrow - is quite a long way down the Don't Care list for me. The big firms miss out on bulk buying at last year's prices. Not a big touchstone issue for the electorate. But it will be dramatic. It will be theatre.
And as for the Mayor:
The Auckland City Council says it is powerless to stop freight carriers acting on their threat to send a thousand trucks up and down Queen St.
Police have urged commuters to leave as many cars at home as possible - or even consider taking the day off.
Auckland City Mayor John Banks said last night that, despite the inconvenience, he would welcome the sight of heavy rigs jamming Queen St "in the spirit of free enterprise and democratic protest"
And choking the traffic and choking Queen Street with filthy bloody fumes. Didn't Rudolf Diesel shoot himself? Bringing public attention to the pollution problems. The great weight and pressure that puts far more stress on the carriageway than a car. The noise. Yes, maybe people will notice those things too. And there will be Banksie, lapping it up outside his office on Queen Street, a morning of TV stand-ups and staccato sound-bites. Wasn't he funded by the motorway lobby and road users? They certainly don't mind dropping a few quid on advertising during the elections.
Have they used their convoy power to surround BP Headquarters to protest at the massive and sudden price changes they seem to be able to effect?
These costs are going to impact on everybody because they will ultimately be passed on to the consumer in higher freight costs. Very stupid thing to do when companies are already struggling to cope with the increased fuel costs and families are already struggling with high inflation and expensive food.
ReplyDeleteWish I was in Auckland to support them.
NS
"Not a big touchstone issue for the electorate."
ReplyDeleteWouldn't be so sure about that. Look at the polls the electorate is getting sick of the Labour government. Particularly it's free spending ways with our money. Look at the traction Bernard Hickey is getting on Stuff with his waste watch series.
Have they used their convoy power to surround BP Headquarters to protest at the massive and sudden price changes they seem to be able to effect?
ReplyDeleteWhy would they? When was the last time an oil company got voted out of NZ? There is nothing they can do to alter an oil company's prices, they can certainly fuck with a government hellbent on putting most of them out of business so they can justify their ridiculous train purchase.
An extra $53.80 per 10,000km for a five tonne truck is hardly going to bankrupt anyone is it? Of course there is an element political motivation in all this. But the government have been stupid - the truckies are protesting that they didn't get notice of the price increases (after being promised that) rather than price increases per se.
ReplyDeleteAnd unfortunately Tim, the government has to levy taxes to pay for things like roads, hospitals, schools, treaty settlements, maori language TV stations, museums such as Te Papa and railways.
Have you forgotten the increased costs will be passed to the rest of us as consumers?
ReplyDeleteKing was evasive and put up a weak performance this morning on the radio.
The problem with Labour (and its minion bloggers) is its inability top acknowledge any mistake. It's always someone else's fault.
"Have they used their convoy power to surround BP Headquarters to protest at the massive and sudden price changes they seem to be able to effect?"
ReplyDeleteLook at the numbers oil company margins have been flat for a while now.
Bryan,
ReplyDeleteI'd be wary of the numbers that Bernhard Hickey and interest.co.nz spout. They are journalists after a story not trained economists. Their analyses have been found wanting on many occasions.
An extra $53.80 per 10,000km for a five tonne truck is hardly going to bankrupt anyone is it?
ReplyDeleteAnd that right there is exactly why people are starting to hate Labour so much.
"you're rich what's another $53.80 to you, rich prick?"
That's what that sounds like. If you think it's such a trifling amount why don't you pay an extra $50 to the government?
Most trucks will travel over 100,000km per year so that measly $53.80 becomes over $530 per year, trucking companies typically have a dozen or more trucks in their fleet so now that $53.80 becomes over $5,380+ and guess where that money comes from - either straight out of the companies profits (margins for a lot of these companies are on tiny margins of only 3%), or more likely it's you and me who end up paying through an increase in prices.
I found it inronic the Greens have urged people to walk or cycle to work tomorrow in their press release about truckers having to pay their own way.
ReplyDeleteConsidering the contribution of cyclists to both road user charges and ACC levies is approximately nothing, it does seem a tad hypocritical.
Yay!
ReplyDeleteCant wait to see all the chaos this will cause,and all the aucklanders that will be late for their made up paper shuffling jobs.
oh poor old truckies. cry me a river. they don't give a fuck when they are polluting our cities, running over our kids or driving like P crazed maniacs on our highways.
ReplyDelete"Considering the contribution of cyclists to both road user charges and ACC levies is approximately nothing, it does seem a tad hypocritical."
ReplyDeleteWell, given that a bicycle will not cause anywhere near the wear and tear on a road that a truck will (or cause any pollution) and people that play recreational soccer, rugby or ride horses don't pay ACC levies either I hardly think its hypocritical at all.
No sympathy. I would have been in favour of peaceful protest, but from all reports they're going to use their trucks as blockades. They could take those trucks to parliament, but no, they're going to force the government to yield by disrupting the lives and livelihoods of ordinary people. It's simply extortion.
ReplyDeleteanonymous: I generally ignore comments by people who don't give their names. All credible commentators and bloggers seem to use their real names e.g. journalist bloggers or people like David Farrar. Bloggers who use pseudonyms, like the team at The Standard always leave me a little suspicious of their motives or true affiliations (inspite of The Standards well researched posts).
ReplyDeleteWhat examples do you have of "Their analyses have been found wanting on many occasions." ?
These blockades have "capital strike" written all over it. The same guys who ripped into Driver Magazine editor Allan Dick when he led a campaign against bigger trucks on NZ roads.
ReplyDeleteLets hope we don't require an ambulance or fire truck while these hair brained truckies are doing their thing eh.
ReplyDeleteWell, given that a bicycle will not cause anywhere near the wear and tear on a road
ReplyDeleteSo when did cyclists start paying for the cycle lanes in towns and cities around NZ? Oh that's right, they don't, the rest of us just have to foot the bill for them.
So when did cyclists start paying for the cycle lanes in towns and cities around NZ? Oh that's right, they don't, the rest of us just have to foot the bill for them.
ReplyDeleteOh noe!!!111 Those evel cyclists!!11!
Really, cycling is good for the health and is a sustainable method of transport. Do you really think its something that should be discouraged?!?!
The amount spent on cycleways and prmoting cycling in NZ is peanuts (and generally done by lcoal authorities).
I have no use for an army, why should my taxes pay for that?
Wellington is pretty muched grid-locked now. Trucks, police ... it's all go!
ReplyDeleteNS