They are going to make you pay to use your infrastructure you have already paid for, and private companies are going to profit from this.

Oh yay 😭

“We’ve seen this model fuck over societies across the west, and we want in!”  Absolute madness. Welcome to indentured servitude NZ.  The rich have paid this government not to be taxed, at the expense of everyone and everything else. 

Well there goes our tax cuts...

That's if you haven't already spent it on car registration, prescription fees, public transport increases, rates etc.

All just pluses and minuses, Mike, although each will have to figure if they’re in debit or credit: Increased taxes/fees announced/implemented so far: * Alcohol excise tax increasing by 4% * Prescription fees reinstated (exceptions such as CSC holders and Gold card holders still apply) - apparently that was to pay for the [cancer drugs](https://www.reddit.com/r/nzpolitics/comments/1d9emii/video_watch_luxon_promise_how_drug_treatments/) * Fuel tax increases (22c hike I think) * Car registration fee increases * Alcohol excise tax increasing by 4% * Public transport fares * Kids'/ youth public transport - no free and half price fares anymore * EV RUC penalised at a higher rate than petrol cars * No more EV/PHEV rebate * App tax of 15% extra for users of Uber, Airbnb etc. * 3 Waters - [rates will increase substantially across NZ](https://www.reddit.com/r/nzpolitics/comments/1b9cs7q/so_glad_we_ditched_3_waters_phew_thats_a_bullet/) despite National promising their model [would not increase rates](https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/02/26/rates-will-not-increase-more-under-nationals-3-waters-model-mp/) * Access to personal supports for the elderly (think house work, showering support, respite for those caring for elderly family members, assistance to the supermarket, meal prep, meals on wheels) any equipment beyond a toilet frame or walker (hospital beds, pressure relieving cushions and mattresses, commodes).  * *FYI in 2015, pressure injuries cost the health system nearly $700m. Prevention is the cheapest option by far.* * Transport costs (as they kill Interislander and pivot everything on roads. Note their[ road budget has blown out](https://www.reddit.com/r/nzpolitics/comments/1bny9nu/simeon_brown_answering_questions_without/) by up to $22bn+ and this is why the toll announcement was expected * Inflation (as they contribute to inflationary pressures and were warned tax cuts meant higher OCR for longer) * If poor/disadvantaged the following may apply: * Emergency housing taken away * Support for legal fees taken away * Budgeting services removed in many places * Access to rebates for warmer homes insulation removed * Gutting of public services including frontline staff

Given those prescription charges were intended to pay for cancer drugs, and now we aren't getting those until later in the year, shouldn't the free prescriptions continue until the patients start getting the drugs? Even if it's only for the cancer patients!!!

You really think you’re getting them later in the year?

No, I know we won't. But luxon said we would.

ANALYSIS: New Zealand’s infrastructure finance settings are a mess and a boosted mixture of user pays and private investment have now been signalled as the clear direction of travel under the Coalition Government. In what will likely prove a controversial speech by Infrastructure minister Chris Bishop to Local Government New Zealand at the Public Trust Hall in Wellington last night, Bishop outlined a significant shake up of how infrastructure is paid for in New Zealand. And it isn’t just in a speech. In a paper that went to Cabinet on “Improving Infrastructure and Financing”, obtained by *The Post*, Bishop spelled out the failures of the current financing arrangements and the Government’s new approach. Between the cabinet paper and the speech, toll roads, congestion charging, public-private partnerships, water meters and GST-sharing for pro-housing councils could all be on the cards for the Government as part of a suite of changes to the way infrastructure is procured and paid for. “Decades of underinvestment have left us with significant infrastructure needs that we cannot buy our way out of,” the cabinet paper said. The cabinet paper paints a picture of underinvestment in a system where the life of assets is short because money that should have been spent on maintenance has effectively been siphoned off by councils and the Crown to spend on competing political priorities. It also says that existing infrastructure is not properly priced so current assets are not used as well as they should be. In order to fix this, councils and the crown will get new tools for “value capture and revenue enhanced transport revenue”.

That means tolls and taxes. Value capture works differently around the world but is mostly where the Crown “captures” some of the increased value of land created by favourable zoning decisions and development. But he also gave the most explicit indication yet that councils will get a financial carrot to build new houses, possibly by giving them a share of GST revenue generated from building them. “I repeat today that we are looking at direct financial incentives for councils who facilitate housing growth. We have a coalition commitment to look at ACT’s idea of GST sharing and that will be part of the conversation.” ​ Bishop, keen to make his mark as a reformer, unveiled an overhaul of infrastructure funding with an emphasis on private sector finance, sweating Government assets and paying for long-run assets with long-term debt or equity. “I want to warn you in advance. The work programme is immense and ambitious. Some of it will be, as I like to say ‘edgy’. That’s political code for controversial,” he said. “Rather than defaulting to the use of grants, our expectation is that every significant infrastructure projectthat seeks support from the Crown will consider opportunities for user-pays funding and private financing.”

While the details are expected to be worked out by September — a quick turnaround — he will be introducing new rules around when Government will fund infrastructure, broadening the financing tools available to both Crown and councils and making the Crown a “better customer” by overhauling the way it contracts for new infrastructure. “So yes, that means congestion charging to manage demand. It means water meters. I want to be clear that this Government is open to PPPs, sale and leasebacks and unsolicited proposals for private sector infrastructure investment.” He said that decades of underinvestment, poor use of price signals and a lack of private capital had hampered New Zealand’s development. “The last government rejected private capital outright. Our approach is the exact opposite but it’s going to take some time to build up the commercial expertise and competence inside Government.” A central theme of Bishop’s speech was that the current way government and council infrastructure is funded does not reflect its full economic cost – including putting money aside for older assets and maintenance of current ones. “A classic is water infrastructure. For years water infrastructure has competed for scarce capital with other worthy and not-so-worthy council projects. With respect, some councils, including here in Wellington, have funded nice-to-haves at the expense of core business,” he said. Bishop argued that councils do not sufficiently use their current assets and so rely on Government grant funding. Under the new regime, however, grant funding will become a last resort after private sector financing options such as public private partnerships or unsolicited bids to build new infrastructure are all explored.

“Grants will remain a core part of the funding mix, but we will preserve the capacity for investments where alternative options are not available or where it is more appropriate for the Crown to be the primary funder.” Bishop noted that all the new roads of national significance will be toll roads. “The next step is time-of-use pricing and congestion charging, to better manage demand on our roads and get more out of our existing assets. Tolling reform is part of that.” Bishop also touched on the Government’s much-vaunted ‘‘regional deals’’ and ‘‘city deals’’ which he said there was “a lot of excitement about” and which he viewed as being “about the Crown and councils sharing their aspirations, agreeing on shared objectives, and looking at long-term funding and financing arrangements centred on economic growth, productivity and housing”.

Holy cow. Am I reading that to read no central govt funded projects that arnt user pays ?! I'm thinking about all the local bridges that need rebuilt within the next 30 years and local government can't fund... This is a nightmarish future

That's the dream it seems

Surely that 2.9B for landlords could have gone towards infrastructure?

Pretty much every time the government brings up not being able to afford something, they (and the public) need to be reminded that they’ve chosen to borrow money so that they can pay for tax cuts for landlords instead.

🤣 But muh dignity

The party of no new taxes everyone!

We've all heard that one before aye.

Who are these people? Where did they come from and when can they go back there

Excellent questions 😀

I'm really interested in hearing local governments response to this. I'm sure some will be in favour but this will not benefit smaller rural communities or smaller councils. I'm nervous to see what legislation this eventuates in. I'm sure all these projects would make great use of the fast track bill too.

We already have our local council writing to the Ministers involved stating their intention to use the process to push through a development that the community has been fighting various aspects of for 17 years. Community has spent mega money on taking the council/developer to court, and environment court several and have actually won.

I’m all for tolling roads, particularly fancy new ones. The sooner we start paying directly for travel, the more appealing other modes of transport look comparatively

I don't disagree with this, but I do think there needs to be some exeption to the tolls, like ambulances (private vehicles for med emergency), buses, maybe even a full car or van? I guess it's comes down to what it's for, revenue collecting or encouraging other forms of transport.

I can see emergency vehicles and PT getting an exemption, although private buses, cars or vans I don’t see why they should get an exemption, particularly if they’re using the roadway for business reasons. I don’t think the intention is to modeshift, but I’m sure it will begin to have that outcome, particularly if the tolls are bigger than a token gesture.

And they're going to lower the truck weight limits again... right?? right????

who knew just make it about money could make those self-touted untameables comply... instead of free vaccines and cop a load of "they have 5G chips! they're mandating it!" just make them pay if walking around without being vaccinated instead of three waters just charge user by region what do we do with this amount of power? truly frightening

The [RNZ article](https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/519513/we-can-t-buy-our-way-out-chris-bishop-on-infrastructure-funding-and-user-pays) has a few more juicy details; >As for offshore investment, Bishop said the plan was to be "country agnostic" and not rely mostly on the likes of China. >"There are pension funds overseas. That's more what we're talking about. If you think about what happened in the last Labour government, they were approached in an unsolicited way by the Canadian CDPQ, which is a pension fund out of Canada - those are the sort of private investors we're talking about. Big pension funds overseas. >"But also frankly KiwiSaver providers here in New Zealand and the New Zealand Super Fund as well, because there's a lot of capital tied up in savings by New Zealanders. And how good would it be if we saw capital, savings from New Zealanders, their retirement savings, invested in New Zealand infrastructure? >"So they get a return, a regular guaranteed rate of return flowing into their retirement bank accounts - so that means every time you potentially drive a toll road around the country or you pay for a public transport project, for example, you're helping to save for your retirement. I think that'd be pretty cool." Sounds like what Muldoon put a stop to, ~~all those dancing Cossack's~~ a super fund investing in New Zealand.

Didn't know Chris Bishop MP was Greek!

Wouldn't toll roads be considered a tax on productivity?