More than $300m in Auckland Fuel tax unspent

More than $300m collected in Auckland Regional Fuel Tax remains unspent, nearly half of the $700m collected.

From the day the tax was brought in on July 1, 2018, to the end of March 2023, it has collected $703.4m, of that, only $375m was spent, leaving $327 unspent.

The tax was brought in by Labour to help fund ATAP commitments.

Big winners include the Eastern Busway which has spent $246m over the period, road safety improvements which spent $239.2m and the Downtown Ferry Terminal redevelopment, which spent $136m.

National’s Transport spokesman Simeon Brown said it was “a bit ridiculous that they still seem to be spending just over half of every dollar they take in”.

“Aucklanders are being fleeced by Labour’s Regional Fuel Tax which Labour imposed on Auckland, which was meant to deliver transport projects, but which almost half of it’s just simply sitting in a bank account at Auckland Council,” Brown said.

A spokesman for Transport Minister Michael Wood said the tax “provides a significant source of funding for transport in Auckland. Auckland Council is responsible for spending the revenue raised by Auckland Regional Fuel Tax and so questions are best directed to the council”.

National is campaigning on repealing the regional fuel tax and is calling on the Government to repeal it as part of plans to impose a congestion charging zone on Auckland.

This could be complicated because congestion charging zones are meant to deter traffic, rather than raise significant sums of revenue.

“Aucklanders were told this money would be going towards major projects which would help reduce congestion, but now those projects have been chopped And the council hasn’t been able to get other projects up and up and running,” Brown said.

“The reality is that the tax should be scrapped and the remainder of the funds should be put towards transport projects which reduce congestion in Auckland, which is the number one issue facing are facing Auckland,” Brown said.

“It was a rushed policy by a government, which is very good at creating new taxes but which has an inability to actually deliver the projects and outcomes that New Zealanders need particularly in transport,” Brown said.

A decision on congestion pricing is expected before the end of the year.