Wow this is so remarkably stupid…
Election 2023: National would make electric vehicle drivers pay road user charges
National is committing to ending a “free pass” for electric vehicle owners if the party gets elected in October.
…put the environmental argument to one side, this is political stupidity on behalf of Luxon.
National have to desperately reach across to the middle vote, that middle vote is 50 year old white women with tertiary education. They are staunchly propping up Labour because they are terrified what a National/ACT Government will do.
They also own lots of EVs.
National are punishing EV drivers for culture war purposes because they are frantically attempting to fend ACT off as they suddenly realise a double digit ACT is now an existential threat to National.
This cements the middle vote to Labour leaving ACT and National to fight over an increasingly smaller polarised reactionary right wing vote.
National look like they have given up winning the middle and are now just in a duel for vote share against ACT.
Why is he talking about Teslas again?
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Baldrick strikes again!
Trades type people are starting to get EVs now, and there are some pretty grunty electric trucks avail in the US, which will win over the macho brigade eventually. Rurals should wake up-have solar power rather than, or in addition to petrol/diesel tanks.
Labour is trying to make used EVs at least, more affordable. I am an old petrol head, still have one ICE Ford, but after a year of EV ownership, the feeling of driving past gas stations-priceless.
EVs are also being used in drag racing! National has shown its hypocrisy with its Tesla purchases and putting its advertising on the side.
Yes…National have no moral compass and will do any old thing if they believe it will garner more votes for them.
Luxon recently claimed the EV subsidy for “his wifes” new Tesla, yet only a few months earlier said it was a bad idea to subsidise the rich into EV vehicles.
He’s all over the shop!!
You can’t believe a single word he says!
He could have easily paid full price to demonstrate how committed he was to National’s policies. But no. Couldn’t resist taking money off all those hard working taxpayers just to line his own pockets a little bit more.
Fundamentally he is a true believer in nanny state…. when it benefits him!!
Is that Luxon figure real? The guy is an idiot regardless but what does vIP transport mean?
National, happy to give property speculators a free pass by removing the brightline test, but not those evil EV owners. What a bunch of f’wits.
Isn’t it ironic that after all it’s rhetoric about reducing taxes, that National is promising to hike taxes lol
At some stage EV owners are going to have to pay RUC. So bringing them in now is no different then in 2, 3, 4, 5 years time. Someone has to pay to fill the potholes.
The cohort that can afford to purchase (with taxpayers support – rich pricks tax cut)a EV will have done so. EV’s are only just now dropping below the $40K price point. Still 100% above what the Labour voter in the pleb suburbs can afford. Guess the proletariat will keep having to buy petrol to pay the RUC that fill the potholes so that the elite can drive over smooth in their EV’s.
The smugness of EV owners is palpable. “but after a year of EV ownership, the feeling of driving past gas stations-priceless.”
Remember that old ditty; “the working class can kiss my arse, I got the foremans job (and an EV) at last”?
Labour; traitors to the working class with their pandering to the elite.
Martyn – You are right, but National are not interested in the middle vote because they will not/cannot think, and act against their large scale donors.
Where are you getting u Power from Tiger? Solar power and wind farms won’t be enough to power EV Trucks.
Rich Soccer mum’s EV s have worn out tyres and clunk into the same POT holes. They can afford road user charges and morally and ethical ly want to pay anyway.
I’ve never understood why the right wing seem to hate smart thinking and intelligent innovative solutions so much.
Old news but I was gob-smacked that the FIRST thing John Key did in government was to go after (dismantle) research and development incentives. i mean, ffs?
EV’s are already shaping up to be an environmental disaster. Everything from the where all the new electricity will come from (and the costly required grid upgrade) to the horrific impact from the mining and manufacture of the Lithium ion batteries. At best it’s moving ecological damage into someone else’s backyard, at worst it ultimately does far more environmental damage than the oil powered cars they are replacing.
https://climate360news.lmu.edu/lithium-not-as-clean-as-we-thought/
https://www.azocleantech.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1520
“the horrific impact from the mining and manufacture of the Lithium ion batteries.”
This PRATT of a comparison is becoming quite popular amongst the more gullible and dishonest in the denier-sphere.
Always made without any reference to the overwhelmingly vaster environmental destruction and costs wrought by fossil fuel extraction and its players.
EV drivers and vegans have much in common .One of the most annoying is they try to convert everyone else with the chief arguement being they are saving the plant . Most people just want to get on with life .
Really Trevor? I know EV drivers and they have never tried to convert me. They just don’t want to pay a fortune to fill up.
You are a fanboy of an evangelist EV purchaser. According to your perception you’ll be having conversion conversations up the yin yang
EVs are much heavier than equivalent ICE vehicles and cause increased wear and tear of both roads and tyres. Those are facts. Then we need to add carbon footprint of increased road maintenence and tyre wear., plus fine road and tyre dust pollution. EV owners/users should cover all that.
I am not agsinst EVs. But heavy, bloated we have now are wrong. Lightweihgt EVs are the right choice. But not in this country. “Some are not safe” arrogantly rejected by govt. Evrn if proven safe enough for EU. Jow come we allow riding e-scooters on the road without helmets ?
EVs are practical…. in situations where ‘functional public transport’ would be a far, far better and cheaper solution. The fact that the filthy neoliberal traitors of the Labour/National uniparty won’t deliver on good public transport doesn’t make EVs good.
Reading half of these comments about EVs and mining for lithium blah blah, like you actually care. It’s about reducing omissions from burning fossil fuel, leading to global warming. They were never brought in as a solution to having zero impact on the environment. When they work out a way of producing hydrogen more efficiently you petrol heads will bitch about that too. You are the same tossers that berate anyone going to a climate conference that didn’t take a year to walk to the f’ing thing because hey until we have a perfect solution let’s do nothing.
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