Motorists to pay more for petrol

The Government’s announcement that it will add two cents per litre to petrol duties is not sitting well with Tauranga residents.

The Government made the announcement on Tuesday, which means it will now cost an extra $30 a year to run the average car.

SunLive asked its readers what they thought of the announcement and the following comments were posted on Facebook:

• “Typical - petrol prices have come down a bit so the Government is now going to take it back by raising excise on it. Talk about being given something with one hand and then having the other hand take it away - people will be even worse off. But heck, politicians don’t give a damn because the tax payer funds their petrol bill and their nice expense accounts. The on-flow of the rise in excise is going to affect everything. Prices will rise so the Government will get more tax coming in to help sort out the mess they have made with the deficit.”

• “It will make it even harder to get people off the benefit because they can’t get to work with such high fuel costs.”

• “I ride a push bike to work but it will put up the cost of living, transport costs etc so it affects us all one way or another.”

Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee says the increase will take effect from August 1 and the additional revenue will go into the National Land Transport Fund.

An increase in petrol excise duty and road user charges of 1.5 cents a litre was originally scheduled to take effect in July 2011. 

However, the Government deferred the increase due to the challenging economic circumstances New Zealand was experiencing as it continued to recover from the global financial crisis and the Canterbury earthquakes. 

“This increase is effectively a catch-up to ensure there continues to be sufficient revenue available to meet the Government’s land transport expenditure targets,” says Gerry.

“The funds raised will contribute to the annual $1 billion investment in developing the country’s state highway infrastructure, which is crucial in assisting economic growth and enabling greater productivity from the transport network.” 

A two cent increase in petrol excise duty will increase average running costs for an average petrol vehicle by around $30 a year, or 0.9 per cent.

The financial impact is similar for a light diesel vehicle subject to road user charges. 

For more information on the increase read Petrol excise, road user charges increases