Pay up, says Government in face of toll road objections

Monday, 13 July 2026

Tauranga now has three toll roads with a fourth one in the pipeline.

The Government says a second toll on the Tauranga Eastern Link will remain.

Labour is accusing the Government of an unfair double toll.

Transport Minister Chris Bishop says future new roads will be considered for tolls, but they cannot be imposed retrospectively.

Tauranga City Council says while it supports tolls in principle, it does not “fully support the additional toll” on the TEL.

The Government is defending a second toll on the already tolled Tauranga Eastern Link expressway, amid accusations from Labour that it’s an “unfair double-toll”.

Transport Minister Chris Bishop said the new offramp at Wairākei, into Pāpāmoa East, created a potential inequity for drivers using the Tauranga Eastern Link (TEL).

The Tauranga Eastern Link has one tolling gantry at the eastern end, and the Government and NZTA confirmed a second would be added between Domain Rd and the new interchange.

“Many users of Tauranga Eastern Link would not be contributing to the cost of the road, which is why tolling this section remains important,” Bishop said.

That’s because motorists could use the TEL to get to Pāpāmoa East without paying a toll.

So the Government has imposed a $1.10 toll at the new interchange, but that in itself has created claims of inequity, as those who come off at Pāpāmoa and then carry on east will pay more than those who don’t.

The TEL has a $2.30 toll, but with the $1.10 fee at the Pāpāmoa East Interchange that increases to $3.40 should they get back on the TEL heading east.

Businesses at the new Golden Sands development are worried this will put people off going there and believe the toll will be passed on by transport companies to retailers and then to customers.

Loretta Johnstone, who with her husband, Brian, owns the new Mitre 10 in the multi-billion-dollar Golden Sands development, says the toll will cost her 80 staff about $45,000 a year.

She has started a petition to Parliament calling for the charge to be scrapped, describing it as a fee for those who want to drive “in and out of their village”.

Bishop is unmoved, saying there was a free route through suburban streets for those who don’t want to pay a toll.

Labour transport spokesperson Tangi Utikere says the second toll is unfair.

“New roads have to be paid for, and tolling is one way to help fund them, ensuring the people who benefit from a road help pay for it.”

Bishop said it was also “important to note that Tauranga Eastern Link was already tolled; this change added a new tolling point and amended the existing tolling scheme”.

Labour’s transport spokesperson Tangi Utikere said the Pāpāmoa toll was unfair. “Labour isn’t anti-toll, Labour is anti-unfair-toll. Tolling to help build new roads faster is a legitimate tool, and Labour has supported it - the Tauranga Eastern Link itself was tolled to bring it forward.

“What is wrong is the double-toll the Government is insisting on,” Utikere said. He also noted the Government had ignored the feedback to NZTA, which drew 3429 submissions and showed “low levels of support” for the second toll.

“Labour will press the Government and NZTA to fix the unfair double-toll.”

Utikere also questioned the Government’s policy to consider tolling every new road. “It is a deliberate choice to shift more cost onto motorists already stretched by rising rates, insurance, food and mortgage costs.

Transport Minister Chris Bishop, centre, at the official opening of Te Ahu a Turanga - Manawatū Tararua Highway.

“That's a policy this Government wrote and this Government can rewrite.”

Bishop confirmed Ōtaki to north of Levin, Auckland’s Penlink, and Tauranga’s Takitimu North Link Stages 1 and 2 will be tolled.

“We’ve also consulted the public on tolling the new Belfast to Pegasus Motorway and Warkworth to Te Hana,” Bishop said.

But existing roads cannot be retrospectively tolled as the law did not allow for that.

“Parliament is considering changes that would allow tolling on some existing roads in limited circumstances, but those changes have not yet been passed,” Bishop said.

That annoys many in Tauranga as Pāpāmoa’s toll will be Tauranga’s third, with a fourth toll planned for the Takitimu Northern Link, while Wellington’s Transmission Gully and the Waikato Expressway were built without tolls.

Bishop was at the opening last year of the Manawatū Tararua Highway, which connects Ashhurst to Woodville, and that road is also not tolled.

“Fundamentally we accept tolls,” Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale told Stuff last week, “but how can we justify to our people that we support tolls but only [they] will pay them and no one else. We support the opinion of our residents who question the equity of the tolls.”

Cabinet papers shown to Stuff state Tauranga City Council, Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Western Bay of Plenty District Council “expressed support” for the second toll on the TEL.

Drysdale was asked how that gelled with his earlier comments and his office sent a statement from Andrew Mead, head of city planning and growth.

“Tauranga City Council supports tolling in principle but does not fully support the additional toll proposal for Tauranga Eastern Link Toll Road as it stands due to concerns about traffic impacts, toll levels, modelling, and toll revenue not being allocated to help fund the Pāpāmoa East Interchange.”

Tauranga’s Pāpāmoa ward councillor, Steve Morris, said he was concerned at the time that the council’s “nuanced submission would be interpreted as full-throated support”.