Source: Radio New Zealand
Tom Kitchin
The Infrastructure Commission has moved to clarify its suggestion around tolling the Auckland Harbour Bridge, with the government considering whether a toll will help pay for a new Waitematā Harbour crossing.
The government has been at pains to stress no decisions have been made around tolling the existing bridge, and the Infrastructure Commission said it was not specifically recommending a toll over options like targeted levies.
In the National Infrastructure Plan, published on Tuesday, the Infrastructure Commission said new revenue would be needed to help fund a new crossing, and a $9 toll on the existing bridge and the new crossing could raise between $7 billion to $9 billion.
On Tuesday, Transport Minister Chris Bishop said it was a “big decision” for the country to make, and a decision he would not get ahead of.
Infrastructure Commission chairperson Geoff Cooper told RNZ the plan highlighted that given New Zealand already invested a large proportion of its infrastructure spend in transport, there was a need to increase user revenues if additional major projects were to be added to the network.
“This could mean increasing existing charges, introducing new charges like tolls, or investing in ways that increase usage and growing the revenue base,” he said.
He said the Waitematā Harbour crossing was one such example where the consideration was needed, and for projects that could not proceed within existing funds, new revenue mechanisms, which could be tolls, target levies, or other charges, should be investigated.
“To illustrate a scenario for what this might look like, we present high-level analysis that a $9 toll on both new and existing crossings could raise up to $7-9 billion to help pay for the crossing,” he said.
“However, we have not undertaken a detailed comparison of alternative revenue options, and hence we do not specifically recommend a toll over options like targeted levies. Ultimately it will be up to decision-makers to decide on the best mechanism for paying for new infrastructure such as this.”
Finance minister Nicola Willis said a $9 toll was a “completely hypothetical scenario”.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
