Dieuwe de Boer: National’s New Ute Tax

Two unrelated stories caught my eye due to two unrelated events this week, but they both tell the same sorry story about the state of politics in New Zealand.

"Streamlining and simplifying the Resource Management Act is an important part of the new Government's programme."

So reads the press release published by the Beehive's in December 2008.

Ele Ludemann: User pays fairer

Tradies, farmers and every other buyer of a new utility vehicle were subsidising buyers of electric vehicles until the ute tax was axed at the end of last year.

All road users have been subsidising EV drivers who were paying neither fuel tax nor road user charges as every other vehicle owner must. That subsidy will soon stop:

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 11/1/24

Happy New Year – and a happy holiday (we trust) for Luxon’s ministers and their press secretaries, too

If the Government’s official website serves as a measure of ministerial activity, the Government is still on holiday.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 15/12/23

It’s Judith Collins, KC, (among other things) now – and here’s hoping she has noted what happened to Sir Francis Bacon

What does Judith Collins have in common with Sir Francis Bacon? Oh – and with former Labour cabinet ministers Sir Geoffrey Palmer and Martyn Finlay?

All served as Attorney-General in their respective countries, but Sir Francis, Sir Geoffrey and Finlay also were King’s or Queen’s Counsel.

Mike Hosking: I hope the Govt is listening to the farmers

I hope today is a very big day for provincial and rural New Zealand. ‘Groundswell’ is what they are calling it.

The protest is up and down the streets of this fine country by tractor and ute.

Basically, it's designed to send a message to Wellington that the rural dweller has had enough, and you can't simply ride rough shod over a significant proportion of the country without some blow back.

The Ute Tax has been the final straw, but it's been over three years coming. The Labour Party, sadly, is not a rural party and it shows.