3 December 2018

Government should provide fuel tax relief now

The Government should be providing immediate relief to New Zealand families by axing its new fuel taxes, rather than waiting for yet another inquiry, National’s Commerce and Consumer Affairs spokesperson Brett Hudson says.

“Today the Government has confirmed it will take no action on fuel prices despite the fact it will take the Commerce Commission at least a year just to report back – and that’s after the inquiry was delayed by months in the first place.

“And even then there’s no guarantee this study will do anything to lower fuel prices.

“Meanwhile petrol prices remain high, albeit slightly off record levels, and New Zealanders are being forced to pay too much at the pump.

“And we know that by the time the Government has received the report and decided how to respond it will have become clearer who is doing the fleecing since it plans to impose two more 4 cents per litre hikes in both 2019 and 2020. That’s on top of this year’s 4 cent hike and the 11.5 cents per litre Auckland regional fuel tax.

“These costs were being added despite record petrol prices which were driving up the cost of living for New Zealand families, yet this Government is refusing to provide them any relief.

“We know that as New Zealanders prepare to pack their cars for their summer road trips and as they continue to drop the kids off at school and drive to and from work, the cost of petrol is higher than it needs to be.

“The Government should axe its fuel taxes and put a halt to any new ones to provide Kiwis with the immediate price relief they deserve.”

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