Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown says scrapping regional fuel tax could leave council with $2b budget gap

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown says any decision about the future of the city's Regional Fuel Tax needs to be made with Auckland Council. Photo / Michael Craig

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown says scrapping the city’s Regional Fuel Tax (RFT) without a plan to replace the revenue could leave close to a $2 billion gap in the council’s budget.

The National Party’s tax policy announced today includes repealing a handful of smaller taxes such as the Auckland RFT and changing the way GST is levied on Ubers.

Brown said he supported the removal of the RFT but only as part of a plan to replace the revenue with “time-of-use” charging.

Any decision about the future of the tax needed to be made with Auckland Council, he said.

“Auckland Council relies on the RFT to deliver sensible transport improvements for Auckland, beyond road maintenance and operating public transport.

“We are using the funding for the Eastern Busway, as well as planned upgrades like Lake Road, Lincoln Road and Glendvar Road.”

Brown said these projects were at risk if the RFT was dropped without a replacement, warning it could leave close to a $2b gap in the council’s budget.

“It will mean more delays to sensible projects to optimise our road network and more potholes.”

Auckland’s RFT scheme began on July 1, 2018 at a rate of 10 cents per litre (plus GST) on petrol and diesel and their bio-variants.

It was designed to support transport projects that would otherwise be delayed or not funded.

Brown said he looked forward to sitting down with the Government soon after the election to work on an integrated transport plan for Auckland, including considering how projects are funded.

“It is time that both major parties learned that they need to work with Auckland on transport and stop dictating to us.”