The announcement of reductions to fuel excise duty, road user charges, and public transport fares have been welcomed, with particular applause for the fact they will not come at the cost of investment in infrastructure.
Auckland Council and Automobile Association say they support the government's move. (File image) Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said the government's decision to reduce fuel taxes for the next three months would offer some relief to families while not hindering much-needed transport infrastructure in Auckland.
"The Ukraine invasion's impact on sharp rises in fuel prices is hurting in particular lower and fixed income households.
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook
"However, it is equally important that we keep up the investment in our transport infrastructure so that we continue to address the twin problems of congestion and carbon emissions. The government's proposal enables both goals to be achieved."
He said halving public transport fares - also for the next three months - would provide further relief, and he hoped it would boost patronage after a marked fall in passengers during the pandemic.
Automobile Association principal policy advisor Terry Collins told Checkpoint they supported the move and expected it would take prices back to how they were about three weeks or a month ago.
"It's not just the 25 cents - but we put GST on top of that. So somebody who has got a 50 litre tank, they will save $14.37 on that tank and that's a fairly substantial saving," Collins said.
"What we're also very pleased about is given that we need so much work done on our roading, that the decision to reduce the fuel excise duty will not impact on the national and transport fund, so that means our roading projects and maintenance can continue unimpeded, and for that that's good news."
Prices could continue to fluctuate but there was still the ability to readjust the decision depending on the circumstances, he said.
"I think the prices we're getting - we're starting to see some stability come back into the market. What I'm seeing now is prices stabilising around anywhere between $109 and $113 a barrel and they're relatively small fluctuations whereas a week earlier we were seeing 13 percent increases, 10 percent reductions, massive ups and downs."
Hospitality New Zealand also welcomed the reduction in excise duty on petrol, coming at a time of "a cost-of-living crisis", as well as the public transport fare cuts.
In a statement, chief executive Julie White said with fuel prices expected to continue climbing and food prices increasing, businesses would require even more relief soon.
"Hospitality and accommodation businesses simply cannot absorb the additional costs caused by petrol price hikes on top of those food increases as they continue to struggle as a result of the Covid downturn.
"Unfortunately, they will still have to put prices up, and that will hurt consumers and keep more of them away. It's a vicious cycle."
White said petrol prices affected every part of the economy and the government should release a long-term plan on alleviating cost pressures.