Vote blunder lowers draft RUC
Road user charges (RUC) for plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) may come in at a surprisingly low rate after government MPs on a select committee accidentally voted in favour of a Labour proposal.
The blunder came to light after the transport and infrastructure select committee returned its amendments on a bill that will introduce RUC for light battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and PHEVs from April 1.
As a result, the committee has unanimously agreed the legislation should provide a 50 per discount from the standard light vehicle rate for PHEVs, instead of the proposed 30 per cent.
This would make RUC for such vehicles $38 per 1,000km while those for BEVs would be set at $76, the same as those incurred by diesel vehicles.
The lower rate is designed to acknowledge that owners of hybrids also pay fuel excise duty on petrol.
The bill put forward by government initially proposed a $53 fee for PHEVS, while a joint submission from organisations representing the automotive sector – including the Motor Industry Association, Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association and Motor Trade Association – called for it to be set at $42.
Members of the Green Party told the select committee it supported the industry proposal and “would go further and suggest $38 for PHEVs”.
Tangi Uitkere, Labour’s transport spokesman, says his party’s MPs had an amendment drafted to that effect and the committee surprisingly voted it through unanimously, reports the NZ Herald.
The change to the bill comes despite the main body of the committee’s report stating “the majority of us consider that a 30 per cent reduction of the RUC rate effectively accounts for any additional costs in fuel excise duty”.
When Andy Foster, a NZ First MP and chairman of the committee, realised what had been voted on he sought leave to have the vote taken again but this was denied by Labour, reports the Herald.
Simeon Brown, Minister of Transport, says he is aware of the accidental change in the report and the government will consider the committee’s recommendations.
The Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill is now set for its second and third reading before becoming law, with the legislation likely to be on Parliament’s agenda when it sits this week.
