Imagine if people that voted Nats actually recognised this as a secret tax. It's just like GST, if you give tax cuts to the rich you (the working class) get taxed even harder elsewhere, via rates, tolls, and higher GST, because they need to make up for the lost tax revenue.
Fortunately, its a decision which can easily be reversed by a future government, assuming national doesn't sell the road (or the right to tax-farm it) to a crony or something.
I’m torn. On one level it can be used as demand management to encourage modal shift. But this requires funding or public transport alternatives, which this government won’t be doing. On the other I hate it because it’s a regressive tax like GST.
Also after reading reports of Labour’s conference, and Sam Stubbs’ lauding of PPP/PFI, what confidence can we have that a future government would reverse this?
Well, its not like they're really funding intercity rail to give people credible alternatives. Instead its just a revenue grab to fund their stupid truck-highway.
And Labour cancelled it in 2018. Unfortunately it was later revived.
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And Labour cancelled it in 2018. Unfortunately it was later revived.