Fuel and Heavy Vehicle sector Servos best placed for tobacco reforms

Mat.alderdice@mta.org.nz

In September 2021, the Government proposed a series of reforms aimed at reducing smoking rates in the country.

Measures proposed by the Government to support and enable this policy include limiting sales to specialty retailers only and introducing a licensing system for tobacco retailers, which would require them to adhere to certain standards and limit the number of retailers in certain areas.

In a 2022 survey, MTA members provided feedback regarding smoked tobacco products in their business. The data from the survey identified smoked tobacco products as a significant income stream to their business. The proposed changes by the Government would impact their business’s bottom line.

Michael Wood had been speaking to a draft. While Hipkins acknowledges the need for emissions reduction, he has also emphasised the importance of road network resilience, which is now a much bigger issue and would be front and centre of the final policy statement.

Wrap up

Regardless, the proposed changes are likely to be controversial, with some fearing a shift away from private cars towards public transport could lead to significant cost increases for motorists. Wood has indicated that increases in fuel taxes and road user charges, which were frozen for the last three years, are back on the table. He clarified that no decision has yet been made regarding the potential increase.

However, the proposal has been well-received by some, with Green transport spokeswoman Julie Anne Genter calling the use of maintenance funding to achieve emissions reduction “pretty sensible”. She has further highlighted the need to use maintenance and renewal funds to improve the design of urban streets.

The new GPS will have one overarching focus: emissions reduction. This focus will be followed by five other focus areas, including safety, integrated freight, sustainable urban development, maintenance, and resilience. According to Wood, the focus on climate change has been brought forward more strongly in response to the extreme weather events experienced in 2023, which have delayed the GPS’s draft release.

The proposed reforms were part of the Government’s wider goal of becoming a smoke-free nation by 2025.

Recently MTA submitted to the Ministry of Health on the Proposals for the Smoked Tobacco Regulatory Regime. The submission can be found on the MTA website homepage. It is MTA’s position that service stations are best placed to fill the role as smoked tobacco retailers.

The MTA team worked closely with the MTA Service Station Advisory Committee to seek industry insights, feedback, and suggestions for the submission on what the proposed changes could mean for our members.

New Zealand has a high rate of smoking compared with other developed countries, with around 13.4 percent of the adult population smoking daily.

In response to this, the Government has set a goal to make the country smoke-free by 2025, meaning a smoking prevalence rate of less than 5 percent.

One proposal is to limit the sale of smoked tobacco products to 600 stores.

This would limit the sale of smoked tobacco products to specialty retailers only, with a priority indicated to dedicated tobacco shops. The idea behind this proposal is to reduce the visibility and availability of smoked tobacco products, particularly in places where children and young people are likely to be exposed to them. The Government is considering the distribution network for smoked tobacco products and a model for urban and rural smoked tobacco retailers. Smoked tobacco retailers would need to hold a licence that would be subject to renewal on a regular basis. The licence would only be granted to retailers who meet certain standards, such as not selling smoked tobacco products to underage customers and not selling smoked tobacco products below the minimum price. The aim of this proposal is to limit the number of retailers in certain areas and ensure that retailers are adhering to proposed standards. The aim of this and other measures is to reduce smoking rates to near-zero levels by 2025. Overall, the proposals are aimed at reducing the number of people who smoke, particularly young people, and improving public health outcomes. If the proposals are implemented successfully, they could have a significant impact on smoking rates in the country and contribute towards the goal of becoming a smoke-free nation by 2025.

If any MTA members have further thoughts, feedback or suggestions please contact me: mathew.alderdice@mta.org.nz