Public backlash: ACC will advise Government to increase rego levies and not increase petrol taxes

ACC Minister Iain-Lees Galloway said had said ACC would have to make a "very strong case" as to why it thinks petrol prices should increase by a further two cents a litre photo / Mark Mitchell

ACC has decided not to recommend to the Government that levies on petrol be increased, following public backlash after the idea was mooted in September.

Instead, it recommended collecting a higher proportion of motor vehicle levies via car registrations.

ACC recommended the average motor vehicle levy for road users increases by 12 per cent – from $114 to $128.

It had originally proposed increasing the petrol levy by 1.9 cents.

That would have been on top of the nationwide petrol excise duty of 3.5 cents a litre.

But ACC recommended shifting the funding split to 66 per cent for the registration fee and 34 per cent to petrol charges.

"This keeps the petrol charge at 6 cents per litre with no increase but still increases the average motor vehicle levy to $127.68."

ACC chairwoman Dame Paula Rebstock said after receiving 6000 submissions – six times more than the last time it sought public consultation of levy changes two years ago – the board decided against increasing the petrol levy.

"The ACC board has carefully considered public feedback in our recommendations to the Government."

She said motor vehicle injury claims have increased by 6 per cent for the past five years, while costs have risen by $100 million.

"This reflects the growth in weekly compensation claims and costs for serious injuries."

Auckland Transport figures show that serious injuries on roads have increased nationally by 37 per cent in the past four years and, in Auckland, by 73 per cent.

ACC Minister Iain Lees-Galloway has been approached from comment.

When asked about the original proposal in September, Lees-Galloway said ACC would have to make a "very strong case" as to why it thinks petrol prices should increase by a further 2c a litre.

"I can assure everyone that this Government is very well aware of the cost pressure New Zealanders face – we're able to take that into account when we make our decision about ACC levies and we will," he said at the time.

Rebstock said the board had listened to public feedback on this issue.

"We've also kept in mind that when we set levies for vehicle owners, we need to balance feedback with adhering to the Government Funding Policy to make sure the money we collect will cover the lifetime costs of all injuries that happen on our roads.

Other recommendations to the ACC Minister include:

•Decreasing the average work account levy for employers by 5 cents from $0.72 to $0.67 (a 6.9 per cent decrease) for every $100 of liable earnings.

•Increasing the earners' levy for workers by 3 cents from $1.21 to $1.24 (a 2.5 per cent increase) for every $100 of liable earnings.

In 2013 and 2014, the average motor vehicle levy peaked at $333. That was 161 per cent higher than the average rate of $127.68 ACC was recommending for the 2019-2021 levy period.