NZ's first regional fuel tax arrives in Auckland

Saturday, 30 June 2018

Aucklanders are now paying 11.5c more for fuel thanks to the implementation of a regional fuel tax. 

The tax of 11.5c per litre, 10c tax and 1.5c GST, applies to all fuel purchases made in Auckland from Sunday, sparking queues at some stations on Saturday as motorists tried to avoid the rise.

Auckland Council approved the tax on May 31 assuming the passage of the Regional Fuel Tax Bill through Parliament. 

The tax will raise $1.5 billion over 10 years, allowing the council leverage to invest $2.8b into the $28b Auckland Transport Alignment Project (ATAP), the majority of which will be spent upgrading the city's rail and bus networks.

**READ MORE:

* How to beat Auckland's fuel tax**

*** 'We are literally bracing ourselves': D-Day for Auckland Regional Fuel Tax

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The regional fuel tax boundary runs south of Pukekohe and north of Port Albert. It encompasses the entire Auckland Council area.

Dough Northin, who works at Caltex in Kaiwaka which is outside of the fuel tax area, said on Sunday: 'It has been busier than usual this morning and there has been a steady flow of people filling up.' 

'I think this is going to be very positive for us not being included in the regional fuel tax.' 

Raman Kaur, a cashier at Wellsford Mobil which is inside the fuel tax boundary, said: 'It is really quiet today compared to last Sunday. Usually Sundays are quiet until around 8am but today is very quiet.'

'A lot of people were filling up their cars and containers yesterday so we were really busy. I now think people will drive 10 minutes to get their petrol in Kaiwaka to save because of the fuel tax.'

A worker at Caltex Balmoral said customers had been complaining about the fuel tax and said they had seen fewer customers on Sunday as a lot of people filled up on Saturday. 

Staff at the Owairaka Mobil said it was business as usual on Sunday, while Kingsland Gull's attendant said they hadn't noticed much of a change, but said there had been an increase in customers on Saturday. 

While prices appeared to have risen at most of the city's petrol stations, Gull stations appeared to be offering the cheapest prices.

Auckland Council will earn, on average, $12.5m per month from the tax, which will be administered and collected by the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA). 

Passage of the fuel tax was a highly contentious issue at Auckland Council with impassioned arguments on both sides. 

At the council meeting in May when the tax was approved, Mayor Phil Goff pleaded with councillors to approve the tax saying it was the only way to help Aucklanders stranded in gridlock. 

'If we don't have this it won't even be business as usual,' Goff said.

'Our city would grind to a halt.'

However, councillor Fa'anana Efeso Collins, who represents the Manukau Ward, said the move would take food off the tables of his constituents.

'Our people have been paying our rates and they never, never push back. Well it's time to push back.'

Local boards also expressed strong opinions both for and against the tax, with the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board saying residents were 'literally bracing ourselves' for its impact. 

In the weeks leading up to the tax's implementation, debate raged about how much of it Aucklanders would actually end up paying at the pump. 

Mayor Phil Goff said he thought competitive market forces would cause greater shifts in the price Aucklanders paid at the fuel pump. 

AA spokesman Mark Stockdale said Auckland was one of the country's most competitive fuel markets and prices were often 20 cents cheaper than in surrounding areas. 

However, Stockdale thought petrol prices would increase on the day the tax was implemented. 

'They want the public to see the price increase is entirely due to a government tax imposition.'