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NZ Herald

August 2026

Govt drains emergency fund to extend fuel tax hike delay

The Government is set to announce its decision on delaying next year’s 12c hike to fuel taxes and an equivalent hike to road-user charges

Tangi Utikeretransport spokesman
Kiwis should not be hit with higher fuel costs because this Government refuses to rule out a tax grab,
Nicola Willisfinance Minister
If he’s saying to every community in the country there will be less funding for your council to repair the roads, he needs to be straight with them about how many jobs will be lost, how many businesses will be destroyed, what a shudder that will put through our construction industry,
We will not be increasing fuel tax on the first of January next year. We just need to formalise that decision and reflect it in the government accounts,