Taxpayers’ Union welcomes draft Transport GPS, warns against overzealous tax hikes

Reacting to the Government’s release of the draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“Reducing road user subsidies of walking and cycleway improvements and capping funding for rail at the level of revenue from Track User Charges should be welcomed. For too long, motorists have been used as cash-cows for political pet projects unrelated to road use.

“It is concerning to see that there are plans to hike fuel taxes and the road user charge equivalent by over 20 cents (including GST) per litre over two years starting 2027. We will be keeping a close eye on this to ensure it is needed for road upgrades and improvements and not simply to be raided for other non-roading projects as it currently is.

“With public transport continuing to receive significant subsidies from private road users, much of the tax hike could be avoided if this was instead funded mostly out of the general taxpayer fund.

“The Taxpayers’ Union will spend the next few days going over the documents to ensure there is no devil hidden in the detail and looks forward to submitting on the plan.”