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Labour has long looked to roll-out some form of pricing but wanted to get cross-party support, despite having a majority, before introducing legislation.
Former transport minister Michael Wood had been consulting with MPs on draft legislation before he was stood down from the portfolio for failing to properly declare and sell his shares in Auckland Airport.
Senior minister David Parker - who picked up the transport portfolio late last month when Wood resigned - told RNZ the government had failed to get cross-party support for the legislation.
“Until about a month ago, all political parties seemed to be in favour of congestion charging. We then prepared legislation, wrote to the National Party as to whether they still supported it ... they came back and said no, but haven’t provided us with any details as to what they would like to see change,” Parker said.
National Party transport spokesperson Simeon Brown told RNZ he had explained his party’s opposition in a letter to Wood in May.
“The National Party has always been very clear that congestion charging can’t be an additional charge on motorists, it needs to be part of wider transport funding reform. So, while we’re fully committed to transport funding, Labour’s bill didn’t do that,” Brown said.
“It also didn’t repeal the Auckland regional fuel tax legislation, which was the bottom line for the National Party.”
Wood had previously signalled the government was open to scrapping the regional fuel tax in favour of congestion charging, saying it would be a “significant impost” to have both in place at the same time.
Simeon Brown says "The National Party has always been very clear that congestion charging can't be an additional charge on motorists". Photo / Alex Cairns
Brown said the government’s draft legislation would have given Auckland the option: introduce congestion charging or keep the regional fuel tax.
“The regional fuel tax legislation needed to be repealed in its entirety, which is not what the bill had within it.
“Also ... it would mean that other parts of the country, which might include ... a congestion charge would be doing that on top of existing charges. So we said we need to have revenue-neutral funding reform as part of our future of transport revenue, and that is where congestion charging should sit and this legislation didn’t go that far,” Brown told RNZ.
When asked if the government was willing to scrap the Auckland regional fuel tax to get National’s support, Parker said: “I’ve given no consideration to that.”
Parker said he had not decided on next steps yet and would not say if congestion charging would be progressed further before the election.
Brown told RNZ the National Party was “fully committed” to introducing a congestion charging scheme in its first term, if elected in October.
National would release its transport policy closer to the election, but the party’s plan for congestion charging would include elements of Labour’s bill, Brown said.
RNZ has been told the government’s proposed legislation would have enabled councils to introduce congestion charging, rather than force them. It also would have required council to get sign-off from the transport minister before rolling out the pricing scheme.
