Bridges questions Genter

The government’s car tax will hike the price of some of New Zealand’s safest vehicles while making some with the poorest safety ratings considerably cheaper, leader of the New Zealand National Party Simon Bridges says.

"Associate transport minister Julie Anne Genter appears hell-bent on pushing her car tax agenda at the cost of keeping people safe on our roads," he adds. 

"She doesn’t seem to realise many of the vehicles she wants to subsidise with her car tax may be banned from entering the country because of their low safety rating.

"A government working group is considering a ban on importing cars with one-star and two-star safety ratings, including models like the Suzuki Swift and Mazda 2 Demio. Both of these cars will be cheaper under Julie Anne Genter’s ‘feebate’ scheme.

"Even stranger is the government wanting to tax a large number of 5-star safety rated cars, including the Toyota Camry, Ford Ranger and Holden Colorado.

"Julie Anne Genter has been selling the public on her car tax by claiming it will make many popular cars, like the Nissan Tiida, cheaper. But she seems to have forgotten her own vehicle safety policies.

"Unfortunately for the Minister, it will be illegal to import a Nissan Tiida into New Zealand in 2021 because cars that don’t have electronic stability control are being phased out.

"In fact, many of the cars identified by the government as being cheaper as a result of its car tax also won’t meet import safety standards from 2020.

"As the minister responsible for road safety, how can Julie Anne Genter propose subsidising vehicles that are too dangerous to be on our roads?"