Auckland tax cut fuels electric vehicle woes

A rash of petrol-friendly law changes are making EVs look less and less attractive to car buyers.

Mōrena, and welcome to The Bulletin for Friday, February 9, written by Catherine McGregor.

In today’s edition: Warnings of new era of Muldoonism over consent process plans; Privacy comissioner concerned about facial recognition tech in supermarkets; Profits from house sales up for first time in two years. But first, just three months ago sales of EVs overtook ICE cars for the first time ever. Now they’re dropping like a stone.

Image: Tina Tiller

RIP Auckland regional fuel tax, 2018-2024

After six years in existence, it’s goodbye to the Auckland regional fuel tax (RFT). Prime minister Christopher Luxon and transport minister Simeon Brown confirmed it’s going the way of so many other Labour government policies – straight into the trash. The pair said the RFT was not funding projects aligned with the government's and mayor Wayne Brown's transport priorities, and so the RFT is set to be repealed by June 30. Luxon highlighted the financial relief it would provide to Aucklanders, emphasising the disproportionate impact of the tax on lower-income households and less fuel-efficient vehicle owners. Removing the tax will mean an Auckland owner of a Toyota Hilux “will save around $9.20 every time they fill up, while a Toyota Corolla driver will save around $5.75,” said Luxon. “Yup,” wrote the Herald’s Chris Keall on Twitter/X, “in some bright, shining world where 100% of the saving is passed on.”

Wayne Brown warns Auckland transport projects under threat

Given it was part of the transport policy National ran on last year, the end of the RFT was far from unexpected. Still Wayne Brown sounded genuinely pained when he warned what it will do to the council’s bottom line. Auckland residents should steel themselves for rates hikes, transport project cancellations, or both, he said. "Every Aucklander agrees that our transport system is a mess and it's going to cost a lot of money to fix. That money must come from somewhere," he said. "Unfortunately, the government has just made it a lot harder for us.” RFT-funded projects facing the chop include planned improvements to major roads such as Glenvar Road and Lake Road on the North Shore; the proposed Airport-Botany Busway; and the final, Pakūranga to Botany Town Centre stretch of the Eastern Busway, on which work is already underway. 

EV sales dropping like a stone

As the cost of running some petrol vehicles goes down thanks to the cancellation of both the RFT and the “ute tax”, the appeal of electric vehicles is beginning to wane. EV sales have sharply declined since the government ended the Clean Car Discount at the start of the year, with only one in 26 new vehicles purchased in January being electric. It marks a significant drop from the one in four ratio seen in 2023, reports Newsroom’s Marc Daalder in an article headlined “EV sales plummet after clean car discount scrapped”. Just three months ago, the opposite was true. “Petrol car sales plummet as EV sales soar”, trumpeted BusinessDesk in November. The confirmation that EVs and PHEVs will need to pay road-user charges from April 1 is also likely to have contributed to the change of sentiment among new car buyers.

Why small cars are hit hardest by the Clean Car Standard

As for the Clean Car Discount’s cousin, the Clean Car Standard (CCS), that’s still with us, for now at least. Simeon Brown says he’s going to review the standard, which applies to ICE (internal combustion engine) imports into New Zealand. Driven NZ has a case study showing why the CCS is so loathed by some importers. Lightweight cars like those in the Suzuki range get hit disproportionately hard, explains reporter David Linklater. The Swift GL is “one of the most thrifty petrol cars you can buy”, but importers must pay a penalty because it’s slightly over the emission standard for cars under 1200kg. That fee is currently only a few hundred dollars for each car, but the standard – and penalties – are set to rise dramatically next year, bringing the fee up to $1957, with more increases the year after. “So ultimately, retail prices might have to rise. A lot.” The budget car brand currently has no EVs in its range, which would soften the impact of the CCS, and is not expected to launch its first until 2025.

Don't miss season two of This is Kiwi!

Back for another round, the first three episodes of Kiwibank's This is Kiwi podcast season two are out now.

Host Jane Yee talks to another group of spectacular guests - from social media star Te Aorere Pēwhairangi to mental health advocate Jazz Thornton and entrepreneur Kendall Flutey.

Listen and download This is Kiwi wherever you get your podcasts.

Warnings of new era of Muldoonism over consent process plans

Critics are raising concerns about the government’s plan to allow ministers to fast-track consents, likening it to the centralised decision-making of the Muldoon era. Under the plan, ministers will be able to essentially approve a project, before it is sent to an expert panel which would only be able to attach conditions to the consent. The panel would have only “limited ability” to decline the consent, the Herald’s Thomas Coughlan reports. Labour's environment spokeswoman Rachel Brooking says she has concerns about potential political influences on consent decisions, emphasising the need to safeguard environmental considerations. Speaking to Newsroom, the Environmental Defence Society’s Gary Taylor goes further, saying the proposed bill is “an assault on democracy, and it needs to be pushed back hard”. Infrastructure minister Chris Bishop says the plan is based on the existing scheme, which originated with the previous Labour government, and its aims to expedite essential infrastructure projects while protecting Treaty settlements and the environment.

Privacy comissioner concerned about facial recognition tech in supermarkets

Privacy commissioner Michael Webster says he has serious reservations about about Foodstuffs North Island’s trial of facial recognition technology, RNZ reports. The trial, which started yesterday, will see all customers in 25 trial locations scanned as they enter, in order to compare their biometric data against a database of individuals known to shoplift or exhibit violent or threatening behaviour. Foodstuffs NI says the trial – which the commissioner insisted on before a full rollout – is necessary in light of a major uptick in retail crime, including an average of two assaults a week. "New Zealanders deserve to shop for their milk and bread without having their faces scanned unless it's really justified,” says Webster, adding that he’s worried about the potential for ethnic minorities to be unfairly targetted, since the technology hasn’t been trained on NZ populations. In other supermarket news, grocery commissioner Pierre van Heerden has launched an anonymous whistleblower tool to allow suppliers to report anti-competitive behaviour or unfair practices by supermarkets without fear of retaliation.

We all need to cut 75% of our carbon emissions. But how?

In order to limit global warming to 1.5ºC, and avoid the catastrophic effects brought on by further warming, every person on the planet must limit their personal carbon dioxide emissions to just two tonnes per year. The current annual emissions average for someone living in New Zealand? Over eight. In this week’s episode of When the Facts Change, writer, consultant and climate justice campaigner Emily Mabin Sutton joins Bernard Hickey to help figure out how we can get our own carbon emissions under control.

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Click and Collect

• Profits from house sales up for the first time in two years, with 93.3% of sellers making a profit. However the hold period to make those capital gains is 8.5 years, compared to 7 years in 2020 and 2021.

• A booming stock market has pushed the NZ Super Fund to $69.7 billion – a record high.

• Executives at Te Whānau o Waipareira Group are, on average, the highest paid in New Zealand charitable sector, according to a paywalled Herald report,

• Disney has announced a surprise sequel to its hit animated movie Moana, to be released in November this year.

  Feeling clever? Click here to play 1Q, Aotearoa’s newest, shortest daily quiz.

Right now on The Spinoff

Preyanaka Gothanayagi visits a whole heap of central Wellington cocktail bars and stays sober long enough to review them. Joel MacManus discovers a rare moment of national unity: MPs who hate Wellington's new housing report. Alex Casey reviews Kevin McCloud, live in Ōtautahi. Elena Wood from A City for People lists the five things the activist group wants to see in Wellington's new District Plan. Gabi Lardies reports on the climate activist who can't wait to “get these polluting companies into the dock”. Marcia Welch introduces eight charming bugs who deserve your love.

Sporting snippets

• Live NRL and Super Rugby games will be shown free-to-air on Sky Open (formerly Prime) throughout the upcoming seasons.

• The Tall Ferns have suffered a heavy loss to China in their opening Olympics qualifying match, going down 94-47.

Got some feedback about The Bulletin, or anything in the news? Get in touch with me at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz.

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