Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed there will be no cut to road user charges, leaving diesel drivers without relief.
Diesel prices have soared in the past week due to Middle East conflicts driving up global oil costs, now matching the price of 91 unleaded petrol. Unlike petrol, which carries a government excise tax, diesel drivers pay their share through RUCs—a system designed to ensure those who use the roads most contribute their fair portion to maintenance.
With diesel now priced on par with petrol, critics point to the RUCs as adding to the cost of diesel vehicles. But Willis defended the government’s decision, emphasising that cutting charges would disproportionately benefit higher-income households and heavy fuel users rather than being a targeted or temporary relief.
We’ve chosen not to take that measure,” Willis said.
“What we’ve said as a government is doing that, having a reduction in that tax; it would not be temporary, timely, or targeted.”
“In fact, it would most likely benefit those on higher incomes and higher fuel users more, and it would potentially directly contradict other measures where we’d have to move into another response phase where we’re trying to encourage people to use less fuel,” she said.
Instead, the government has focused on supplementing incomes for families with young children on lower incomes, with Willis noting that additional support will be considered only when it is “prudent, timely, and necessary.”
“I have deep sympathy for diesel users because diesel is the fuel globally that has been most disrupted by the Middle East conflict.”
The Finance Minister framed the decision in terms of fairness: “We have a fairness principle in New Zealand that road users contribute equally to the maintenance and funding of roads. We have a different mechanism for achieving that for petrol users from diesel users, but if we were to do something for diesel users, petrol users would fairly ask why they’re not getting it.”
Although she has ruled out cutting road user charges, Willis said her focus is on keeping diesel available and helping New Zealand support global efforts to stabilise diesel prices.