There are currently only three toll roads operating in New Zealand. These decisions would double that number, although one of the current crop of toll roads is expected to be toll-free within a decade.
The Government has caved on a proposal to toll the new Manawatū–Tararua Highway, which crosses the centre of the country from Palmerston North. The proposal faced intense public backlash.
Brown said the decision to scrap that proposal was due to “late consultation and timing constraints”, meaning “it would not be cost-effective to implement tolling until well after the road’s completion, placing it outside the Government’s expectations for new road tolling”.
Brown and his colleagues have made no secret of their fondness for tolling, arguing it is a way of bringing forward infrastructure that would otherwise wait years for public funding to be found. While the tolls help pay for roads, traffic volumes and toll rates in New Zealand are so low that they do not cover the whole cost of building and maintaining a new road.
While announcing the new tolls, Brown also unveiled a suite of changes to make tolls easier to apply. Earlier this year, he set an expectation that all of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi’s (NZTA) new Roads of National Significance be considered for tolling.
The changes announced today would enable the tolling of an entire corridor, including existing roads that gain capacity or are extended by new projects. Tolls will also increase by inflation to ensure the value of tolls is not eroded over time.
The new schemes can require heavy vehicles to use toll roads where the toll road is designed to divert traffic away from built-up or suburban areas. Overseas, including in places like Sydney, it is common for most heavy vehicles to use tolled roads unless they have business on local roads like making deliveries or accessing a worksite. Brown said there would not be a blanket rule requiring heavy vehicles to use toll roads, but decisions would be made case by case.
“Tolling is a tool used around the world to accelerate investment in roading infrastructure, and the changes the Government is making will allow this approach to be applied in New Zealand more effectively,” Brown said.
“These reforms ensure that those who benefit from new and improved roads share in the cost of building them, making it possible to deliver infrastructure sooner and more efficiently.
“The Government is taking a user-pays approach, which optimises toll revenues to build the modern roading infrastructure, which will improve economic productivity by helping Kiwis get to where they want to go quickly and safely,” he said.
The Government is also making upgrades to tolling infrastructure to make tolls easier to roll out. Legislation to make the changes will be introduced next year. It will adjust the law to toll the vehicle owner rather than the driver to make it easier to collect toll payments.
“These changes will help New Zealand build future-focused roading infrastructure, improving connectivity and supporting economic productivity,” Brown said.
Thomas Coughlan is Deputy Political Editor and covers politics from Parliament. He has worked for the Herald since 2021 and has worked in the press gallery since 2018.
