In an effort to make greener cars cheaper for New Zealanders, the Government plans to discount the price of imported electric and hybrid vehicles by up to $8000. However, it is also planning to add a new fee of up to $3000 on the importation of vehicles with the highest greenhouse gas emissions. With many businesses relying on such "gas guzzlers" for their livelihood, The Country's Jamie Mackay quizzed acting Prime Minister Winston Peters on whether this plan is fair on the farmers and tradies of New Zealand.
Mackay: Let's start with electric vehicles acting Prime Minister. You're supposedly a champion of the provinces, what are you going to do to help out the Northland farmer or the West Coast tradie who really actually needs a big SUV or double cab ute to do their work? You're penalising these people.
Peters: No we're not. The fact of the matter is that there are over 400,000 utes around this country, a lot of them out on farms and used as farming vehicles. They're all going to be exempt because they're all here now. The desire is to bring in vehicles which are far more fuel-efficient so to speak and farmers have got an interest in this outcome as much as anyone else.
The cost will be pretty painless when you think about it and greater utility or greater efficiency on vehicles has the potential to save six to nine thousand dollars for the running costs over the lifetime of that vehicle.
So if farmers were calm about it and not start at shadows which is the National Party's penchant to do, they'll see that this could actually work in their interests.