Five Million Voices

Should the Auckland regional fuel tax be terminated and the framework allowing new regional fuel taxes be removed?

The bill ends the Auckland regional fuel tax before its scheduled expiry and repeals the legislative mechanism that allowed regions to apply to create new regional fuel taxes.

⚡ Taken under urgency

Parliament advanced this bill under urgency (committee of whole house, first reading, second reading, third reading) — moving it through faster than usual, with less time than normal for public submissions.

MPs’ arguments for and against the bill

Why support it
  • Supporters argued the tax was regressive and fell hardest on less well-off people living on Auckland's outskirts who must drive to get around.
  • Supporters said $341 million of the revenue raised remains unspent, suggesting the funds were not needed at the pace originally planned and that the scheme had become an open-ended fund.
  • Supporters argued the money assumed to come from the National Land Transport Fund was not free and would otherwise be unavailable to the rest of the country, and that future road funding should come through tools like congestion pricing and road-user charges.
Why oppose it
  • Opponents argued repealing the tax would put vital Auckland transport projects at risk, forcing the council to cancel projects or raise rates already under pressure from water and other costs.
  • Opponents said the savings for motorists were minimal—around $1.85 each per the departmental disclosure statement—and unlikely to substantively ease cost-of-living pressure.
  • Opponents argued the tax funded sustainable transport, public transport, and road safety measures such as speed bumps and lower speed limits that reduce road deaths and reliance on fossil fuels, benefiting all road users.

These are claims MPs made in Parliament’s debate — not verified facts.

Full bill summary & link to official bill page

This bill removes the ability of regions to charge a regional fuel tax - a local surcharge added to the price of petrol and diesel to help pay for transport projects in that area. It amends the Land Transport Management Act 2003 to repeal the provisions that allow such taxes. In practice the only scheme operating was Auckland's regional fuel tax, introduced in 2018 at 10 cents per litre (plus GST) to fund public transport, road safety, cycling and other Auckland transport work. By scrapping the framework, the bill ends the Auckland charge and blocks any region from setting up a new one. It also sets rules for money already collected but not yet spent, providing for how unspent revenue is dealt with. The immediate effect for motorists in affected regions is a lower price at the pump, with the funding of transport projects moved to other sources.

Repealing the regional fuel tax was a National Party campaign promise and part of the 2023 coalition agreements, reflecting a wider focus on easing the cost of living. Supporters say fuel is already heavily taxed, that the surcharge pushed up prices for households and businesses during a period of high inflation, and that a flat per-litre tax hits lower-income drivers hardest. They argue transport should be funded nationally and more transparently. Critics, including Auckland's mayor and council, argue the tax raised substantial revenue earmarked for needed transport projects, and that removing it without a guaranteed replacement leaves a funding hole that could delay or cancel public transport and roading work, or shift the burden onto rates and central-government grants instead.

See the Parliament.nz ↗ site for the full bill.

Oppose (No) Support (Yes)

Land Transport Management (Repeal of Regional Fuel Tax) Amendment Bill · Third Reading, 5 Mar 2024
Parliament voted 68–54 — it passed.