KEY POINTS:
A Government move to dedicate fuel taxes to transport spending may put Auckland roading projects into the fast lane.
Transport Minister Annette King yesterday announced that Cabinet had signed off on all income from petrol taxes, road user charges and car registration fees being siphoned directly into the Land Transport Fund, rather than being poured into the Government's consolidated fund.
The Automobile Association, which has strongly lobbied for such a move for many years, was delighted.
"It is a great win for New Zealand motorists," Simon Lambourne, AA Auckland Transport spokesman, said.
"This means a lot of money going to roading, which will go on projects needed urgently in Auckland and around the country."
Mrs King said she expected the move would smooth the way for the introduction of regional fuel taxes and toll roads. More efficient roads, plus increased funding for public transport, walking and cycling were also expected to ease congestion, she said.
"People have to be part of the solution, but they will only be part of the solutions if the solutions make sense to them as individuals.
"New Zealand has possibly not always understood this as well as it should have done in the past, particularly in Auckland, where congestion is clearly a worse problem than it is in other parts of New Zealand."
She estimated there would be an extra $35 million for the sector in 2009/10.
National Transport spokesman Maurice Williamson welcomed the fuel tax move, saying the initiative was longstanding National policy.
"It is not going to be enough. ... but the barrier to motorists paying any form of an extra charge by way of a toll or anything else was always this argument, 'We're not prepared to pay any more while you are stealing our petrol tax'."
Mr Williamson predicted projects such as the Albany-Puhoi toll road would be more acceptable because motorists' petrol taxes were going entirely towards roading projects. Expensive major developments such as four-laning the highway from Auckland to Hamilton and a second Auckland harbour crossing, might now be able to be brought forward.
However, Road Transport Forum head Tony Friedlander's welcome for the move was lukewarm. He said road user's money would also be spent on public transport and other roading alternatives.
"The roading system has fallen badly behind where it should be, but we've got to be thankful for small mercies, that the Government is beginning to at least move in the right direction."
Greens co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons opposed the move, and said motorists needed to pay for the additional costs driving imposed, such as global warming and health problems caused by pollution.
"We need to separate the charges that should go on the fuel because of its polluting effect and for climate change reasons, and the charges that go on the use of roads. That way you might exempt clean fuels from any fuel tax, like bio fuels or electric cars, but you would still charge them for the use of roads with a roading charge."
