Auckland mayoral candidate Phil Goff will push for a 10 cent charge on plastic supermarket bags if elected, he says.
Mr Goff said he would lobby Parliament to pass a local bill to allow the Auckland Council to impose the charge, in an effort to clean up the environment,.
Photo: 123rf
A similar charge in Britain resulted in an 85 percent reduction in the use of plastic bags, he said.
He was confident he could get political support for the idea.
"I know that many of the political parties in Parliament would be in favour of this.
"I think we could persuade all members of Parliament that this is something that helps the environment at a minimal cost to the consumer."