Kiwis could see the cost of living crisis get worse if the fuel tax cut is not extended next year, a leading road freight body says.
Transporting NZ is calling on the Government to provide certainty on the fuel excise reductions, road user charge and public transport discounts, which are currently due to expire on January 31.
This follows a post-Cabinet press conference on November 7 where Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she could not confirm if the fuel tax cut could be extended beyond that date.
“We haven’t yet made a decision around what will happen at the end of January; we want to do that closer to the time so that we have a better read on things like energy prices,” she said.
The transport body says further doubt around a possible extension comes after the Government’s re-signing of the international commitment to eradicate all fossil fuel subsidies.
Transporting NZ chief executive Nick Leggett says it creates a lot of doubt and Kiwis deserve more clarity now.
“It seems to me that they can’t sign this agreement on the one hand and then pretend that they haven’t made a decision on the continuation of the much needed cost of living support package.
“Which one is it? Cash-strapped New Zealanders deserve some certainty.”
Leggett says the fuel discount package has provided essential relief for Kiwi households and businesses who are doing it tough.
“If road user charges and fuel excise go up as the Government plans from January 31, then the price of all our household goods and food carried by trucks will go up, too.
“The Prime Minister has said previously that a decision would be made ‘closer to the time’, but their assumption was that by January 31 inflation will have eased.
“That now looks unlikely. Transporting New Zealand’s advice is that inflation is still likely to be hovering around 7% in late January.
“If they have made a decision that they intend to ramp up the cost of living again, at least be honest about it right now so people can start adjusting their holiday budgets now,” Leggett says.
