Labour’s Ute Tax increase bad news for farmers

The Government recently announced they would be increasing the fees for their Ute Tax, which penalises utility and light commercial vehicle purchases to subsidise expensive EVs for the wealthy.

The fees for some of these vehicles will nearly double, forcing those who rely on them to pay even more going forward.

In most cases, there are simply no alternative vehicles that suit the needs of those like farmers and tradies, who often require heavy duty vehicles that do not have an electric or hybrid option available in New Zealand.

70th year since Hillary’s summit

The Lions Club of Howick hosted a dinner with guest speakers Sarah and Peter Hillary – children of Mt Everest conqueror the late Sir Edmund Hillary –from the Himalayan Trust. They commemorated the 70th anniversary of the Everest summit achievement. Also present were members from PakurangaPanmure Lions and Bucklands Beach Lions clubs.

“After Sarah and Peter finished their extremely interest- ing, sometimes humorous talk, which included a video about the work of the Himalayan Trust, there were two presentations,” says Howick Lions’ Colin Salt. A donation from the Howick Lions Club ($1000) followed by one from the Lion Leos ($200) from Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate who are associated with the Howick Lions. The three student Leos helped raise the money from their sausage siz- fundraisers.

And what do those fees end up paying for? Expensive Teslas and similar vehicles that only the wealthy can afford in the first place.

These fee increases are a result of the overall failure of the policy so far, with more than $200 million more handed out in subsidies than has been taken in by the tax.

With New Zealand facing a costof-living crisis the likes of which we haven’t seen in decades, we should be focused on policies that ease the burden on those struggling the most instead of spending hundreds of millions discounting expensive vehicles.

Long-time Howick resident Jim Smith has been honoured for his 50 years of service in the fire service.

Smith enrolled in 1973 in what was then the Auckland Fire Police and has served ever since in the same unit, known these days as Operational Support or the Auckland Volunteer Fire Brigade. He’s the first in the group to achieve 50 years.

The brigade supports firefighters at emergencies across Greater Auckland and has also been called on to assist outof-town during National Emergencies, including the Canterbury earthquakes. It’s the biggest – and busiest – volunteer fire brigade in New Zealand.

Auckland Operational Support

MP

for Pakuranga Simeon Brown

This is just another example of Labour’s poorly-considered policy making, with hard-earned tax dollars from those struggling to get by going to the wealthy who have no problem buying a Tesla.

National will axe Labour’s Ute Tax and work with the vehicle importation industry to develop sensible, long-term policies that reduce our emissions without penalising Kiwis for getting the vehicles they need.

50-YEAR MEDAL FOR HOWICK LOCAL

(Auckland Volunteer Fire Brigade) is a separate entity and not part of the local Howick Volunteer Fire Brigade.

Smith was its Chief Fire Officer during a time of great progress, introducing emergency response vehicles, a state-of-the art radio network and commissioning specialist appliances. And, as well, attending major fires and emergencies in Auckland over the decades.

In 2006 he received the Queen’s Service Medal (QSM) in the Royal Honours for his work with fire services.

A dinner was held at the Howick Club, of which Smith is president, to mark the milestone attended by top fire and emergency executives, his colleagues, family and friends.