Local Bodies To Lose Big Transport Concessions

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31128, 3 August 1966, Page 8

Local Bodies To Lose Big Transport Concessions

Concessions amounting to an estimated £50,000 will be lost by county councils and municipalities in North Canterbury under amended transport regulations effective from September 1.

The regulations, just issued, give effect to the provisions of the Transport Amendment Act No. 2, passed towards the end of the 1965 Parliamentary session, and remove exemptions which have applied to local body vehicles used for roading work. From September 1, local bodies will lose their exemption from heavy traffic fees and the rebate they receive on petrol, and will pay mileage tax on the use of diesel vehicles. In addition, they will pay heavier annual registration charges for vehicles. It is estimated that, in a full year, loss of these concessions will cost the City Council £15,605, with payment of £5376 in petrol tax, £6836 in heavy traffic fees, £2366 in mileage tax on diesel vehicles, and £1027 10s in extra registration costs.

The heavy traffic registration year runs from June 1 to May 31, and in the nine months from September 1, it is estimated that Waimairi will have to find £1650 in heavy traffic fees, £240 in diesel tax, £1250 more for petrol and £2lO for higher registration fees. ‘Tor the full year, you could add another £lOOO, say something over £4OOO in a full year,” said a council officer.

Paparua will pay an estimated £1417 for the nine months to May 31, made up of £3BO in heavy traffic fees, £783 more for petrol and £254 on registrations. No diesel plant is affected.

Because the proportion of plant affected varies from council to council, 80 per cent of Paparua’s vehicles will incur the extra charges, com-

pared with 48 per cent of Waimairi’s vehicles, and only 15.3 per cent of those used by the City Council. Local bodies now pay Is 3d

, a gallon for petrol, and while > third-party insurance premit urns are paid on all roading : vehicles, only some of them ' have been required to pay • registration. > The extra money will go to r the National Roads Board. In spite of strident protests 1 from the local bodies, in - which it was claimed that the s Minister of Transport (Mr i McAlpine) had yielded to ■ pressure by the Contractors’ 1 Federation, the legislation was r passed, Mr McAlpine assuring - local bodies that they would . not be worse off financially. i But, say council officers, - this does not appear to have ? worked out in practice. The t National Roads Board has 5 agreed to return to local i bodies £300,000 this year, but , only, so far, for this year, - with no assurance that it will continue.

The refunds will come in grants based on a percentage of roading subsidies. The City Council expects to get back £5065 for a full year, Waimairi £728 and Paparua £491 for the nine months. The money can be used only for road maintenance. It is contended that local bodies have lost in another way. The roads board has revised its rules on subsidy claims. This, it is estimated, will mean a loss of £41,000

to just the counties in the North Canterbury area. It ha« been suggested that the board should pay a higher basic roading subsidy to meet this loss, and that the

£300,000 to be paid back would allow 16s instead of 15s to be paid for each pound spent.

Another aspect of the legislation Is that it permits councils at large to take over the collection of heavy traffic fees.

Locally, this has been done by the City Council, involving about 6000 heavy traffic licences and £270,000 a year in fees.

Councils are entitled to 4 per cent collection commission. Waimairi, Paparua and Ellesmere county councils are known to have sought authority to collect, and Paparua was assured last week by the Commissioner of Transport (Mr R. J. Polaschek) that the authorising Gazette notice would be through in time for the council to start on September 1.

Neither the City Council nor the counties yet know exactly how many heavy traffic licences could be affected, but the figure may exceed 1000 for Paparua and Waimairi. Paparua is now checking City Council records, and will send circulars to heavy transport operators in the county, seeking their fees.