A New Zealand policy group has warned recent changes in Parliament could significantly broaden how tolls are used, with potential effects on everyday drivers, freight operators and the price of goods.
What the Bill would change
The Land Transport (Revenue) Amendment Bill under consideration would expand ministerial powers to approve tolls. Under the proposed rules, tolling would no longer be limited to users of a newly constructed road. Instead, ministers could apply tolls across a transport corridor that includes existing routes, and could direct toll revenue to other parts of the network.
Critics say that combination of powers could allow future governments to treat tolls as a form of general road tax rather than a user charge for a specific new piece of infrastructure. The Bill would also provide ministers the ability to restrict certain types of vehicles from untolled alternatives, effectively directing them onto tolled routes.
How motorists could be affected
If the changes pass in their current form, drivers could see tolls applied in places where they have never been used before, including on roads that already exist. The Bill does not set a clear legal definition of a "corridor". That gap raises the risk that people travelling near a new toll project, but not using it, could still face charges because they are deemed to be within the same corridor.
Under that model, someone driving along a highway who never turns off to use a newly built interchange could nonetheless be liable for tolls. The legislation would also permit toll revenue to be spent on maintaining nearby toll-free roads, meaning money collected from users of the tolled route could be redirected to other parts of the network.
Advocates for keeping tolling limited to direct users argue that when people pay to use a road they should expect that money to fund that same road. Allowing toll income to be used for other maintenance could, in their view, break the link between payment and benefit.
Concerns about double charging and costs to households
Road maintenance is already paid for through Fuel Excise Duty and Road User Charges. Opponents of the bill say allowing tolls to be used for existing road upkeep would amount to motorists paying twice for the same services. They contend that will be particularly noticeable for frequent users and for businesses that rely on road freight.
