June 6, 2008
Southern Wood Council opposes increase in road user charges.
The Southern Wood Council has added its support to transport industry oppostion for the latest increase in Road User
Charges.
Increases in the Road User Charge tax amount to 25 percent over the last 18 months, and this is affecting profitability
in the forestry industry.
Council member and City Forests Chief Executive Grant Dodson said the latest increase comes on top of significant fuel
related inflation, high foreign exchange rates, and high export freight rates.
Combined with the unexpected tax increases, the challenges facing the New Zealand forestry industry are substantial,
particularly when considering the added uncertainty around the impacts of the proposed carbon emissions trading scheme.
“These provide serious challenges across the whole forest and wood processing sector, as we generally do not have an
ability to pass these additional costs on to customers” Mr Dodson said.
The Road User Charge increase will add about 1.4 percent to trucking rates, and forest growers and processors will be
the ones that have to pay for it.
“It’s yet another blow to business in New Zealand, but the most disappointing aspect is that it is something that
doesn’t have to be there,” Mr Dodson said.
“Fuel taxes have already been a windfall to the government over recent years as price and consumption increase, and
members of the Southern Wood Council don’t see why the government needs to increase Road User Charges at a time when
business and consumers are hurting.”
The sector would like to see the government delay increases until business conditions improve and the economy is back
into a solid growth cycle. “The government needs to be in touch with the challenges facing manufactures and exporters
viability,” Mr Dodson said.
The Southern Wood Council Inc was set up in 2001 to promote, encourage and coordinate the sustainable economic
development of the forest products industry in Otago and Southland. One of a few truly independent groups of its type in
New Zealand, i t includes all the major forest owners within the region (ownership or management of over 140,000 hectares of
production forests with an annual harvest of over 1.2 million m³ of wood), the larger wood processing and manufacturing
companies, the port authorities and each of the three economic development agencies from local councils.
http://www.southernwoodcouncil.co.nz