ARC promises public consultation before fuel tax
5:00AM Wednesday May 23, 2007
By Mathew Dearnaley
Auckland local body councillors concerned about a new regional fuel tax are being assured the public will be consulted before decisions are made.
Some councillors expressed concern to the Auckland Regional Land Transport Committee yesterday that it would be difficult to persuade their constituents to accept a new tax of up to 10c to pay for transport benefits that might not flow directly to them.
Franklin District councillor Jill Morris said the tax boundary should be north of her area "because we won't be getting much in the way of public transport".
Her concern was shared by North Shore City councillor Julia Parfitt, who said many of her ratepayers were unable to see benefits from the proposed tax, up to two-thirds of which is expected to go towards repaying loans to be raised for a $1 billion-plus rail electrification project.
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