Northland seeks 'no strings' petrol tax cash

Northland local body leaders are preparing a case to convince the Government their ratepayers should not have to stump up more money to get the extra road funding generated after April 1 by the new 5c a litre petrol tax.

The Northland region is in line for about $72 million over 10 years from the new tax.

Although nothing has been allocated for spending within Northland yet, a substantial part of the extra money, perhaps as much as $50 million or more, is likely to go to Transit New Zealand for sealing, upgrading and realignment work on some of the region's state highways.

But over the next 10 years, as current road funding and subsidy rules stand, Northland's three district councils will be expected to pay millions of dollars to meet their required "local share" in order to access the extra funds for sealing and improving local, council-administered roads.

Present subsidy funding assistance ratios for capital work on northern local roads mean the Government, through Transit, generally pays 50-60 per cent.

District councils, through their ratepayers, pay the rest as their "local share".

Paying another local share for petrol tax funds would be on top of what the district councils already put up for capital work and maintenance on local roads within their areas, they say.

The mayors, supported by the Northland Regional Council and its regional land transport committee, say this is unfair and unworkable in most of Northland, which has thousands of kilometres of poor local roading to upgrade and a small population to pay for it.

They want the Government and Transport Minister Pete Hodgson to consider Northland's local roading infrastructure as a special case and to waive the local share requirement for the petrol tax money.

"Our councils can't afford their share. They're spending up to their hilt at present," land transport committee chairman Bill Rossiter says.

"They should be able to spend any whole amount allocated on their roads without having to fund a share.

"Otherwise, we can't afford it and Transit will grab the lot."

The committee hopes to find out more about the rules for new tax at a meeting in Christchurch this month.

While Whangarei district, with its larger population, is not too badly off in local roading terms, the Far North and Kaipara district councils would be especially hard hit by any requirement to meet further local share rules.

"We just can't afford to be taxed further," Far North Mayor Yvonne Sharp says. "Our communities are heavily rated for roading and the amount goes up each year.

"The Far North has the second biggest local roading network in the country and a very small rating base to pay for it."

Kaipara is in a similar situation. Mayor Peter King says about three-quarters of his district's local roads are unsealed.

Forestry-related local roading used by logging trucks was 100 per cent-funded for upgrading under the Government's Regional Development Programme several years ago and the same should apply again, he says.

If about $1.4 million annually was allocated to the district from the petrol tax money it would mean the council, with a small rating base, would have to find about $700,000 more a year to access the extra funds. That would equate to an 8-9 per cent rate rise.

Northland Regional Council chairman Mark Farnsworth says the mayors have got it "absolutely right".

Far North numbers

* 2500km of local roads in district.

* 29 per cent of roads sealed (NZ district average is 60 per cent).

* 30 per cent of annual budget is spent on roads.