Bridges says Genter ignoring Kiwis opposing car tax

Associate transport minister Julie Anne Genter has disregarded at least 1000 public submissions opposing her car tax proposal, National leader Simon Bridges says.

Genter’s ministry blocked submissions on the vehicle feebate proposal via a website set up by National because it was considered “spam”, documents released under the Official Information Act reveal.

Bridges says 1594 people made formal submissions on the proposal through National’s website, and another 14,060 people signed a petition to stop “Labour’s car tax”.

For new cars, the car tax proposes a levy of up to $3000 for heavy-emissions vehicles and a subsidy of up to $8000 for low-emission vehicles. Used cars face up to a $1500 fee and a subsidy up to $2600.

“It is utterly unacceptable for a minister to ignore submissions from people who don’t agree with her, and to even go as far as blocking opposing views,” Bridges says, while calling this an “affront to democracy”.

“It’s hypocritical for the Government to block submissions on forms supplied by National when it had no problem accepting 4190 submissions on the Zero Carbon Bill that were based on forms supplied by the likes of Generation Zero, Greenpeace and Forest & Bird.”

Bridges says Genter is ignoring the thousands who spoke out against the proposal, and National did not bend anyone’s arm to speak up.

“These people did so out of genuine concern about being stung up to $3000 for not buying a low-emission vehicle,” Bridges says. “The reality is most New Zealanders do not support Labour’s car tax.”

National is calling for Genter to reopen public consultation for New Zealanders.

Bridges says this is “yet more evidence this Government can’t be trusted on transport.”

He urges Genter to explain to New Zealanders why she will “only entertain people who share her way of looking at things.”

Genter says: “The Ministry of Transport advised that during consultation they received over 500 emails from a single digital signature.”

“I am told the ministry classified these emails as spam as they contained the same message and were received consecutively over a very short period of time,” the Herald reports Genter as saying.

Genter says ministry officials made the decision to consider the emails as one individual submission and has asked officials to clarify whether the emails came from the National Party.