Concerned Tararua locals have described proposed highway tolls as a “kick in the guts” during a heated community meeting last night.
Te Ahu a Turanga — which comes with a $620 million price tag — is a new highway being built over the Ruahine Range after slips in April 2017 saw State Highway 3 through the Manawatū Gorge close indefinitely.
The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) is proposing a fee of $4.30 per trip for light vehicles and $8.60 for heavy vehicles, with the money making a positive contribution to recouping project costs.
The proposal was made just months out from its opening, leaving locals blindsided.
Hundreds of residents gathered at Woodville Stadium for a charged meeting with local National MPs and NZTA over the potential move.
“Put your toll where the sun won’t shine!” one aggrieved resident said.
Some locals became so frustrated they were unwilling to leave the stage.
“Folks, don’t be blindsided,” another resident said.
Tararua Mayor Tracey Collis was equally incensed, saying she felt “an overwhelming sense of betrayal, anger, disbelief and a kick in the guts”.
“NZTA, we will not pay.”
Labour transport spokesperson Tangi Utikere called the move “outrageous and it simply should not happen”.
Commuters making five round trips on the road each week could pay more than $2000 in tolls each year in a district where the median salary was just $26,000 in the last Census.
“It is cruel. It is wrong and it’ll be on your heads if it’s allowed to go ahead,” Mavis Mullins of Rangitāne o Tamaki-nui-ā-Rua said.
“There’s huge struggle already with people even trying to get to Palmerston North,” said Hayden Hape of Ngāti Kahungunu ki Tamaki-nui-a-Rua.
‘Stand up for this community’
Waka Kotahi NZTA’s director regional relationships for the central North Island, Linda Stewart, said it had to propose the tolls due to the coalition government’s requirements.
“Under this government policy statement, the clear expectation has been to consider tolling,” she said.
Ultimately, Cabinet will have the final say.
Transport Minister Simeon Brown said the money was needed to recoup costs for future projects and maintenance.
“If that money isn’t raised, that’s less money for road maintenance, it’s less money for building other roading infrastructure across the country, and so this is a proposal,” Transport Minister Simeon Brown said.
But Utikere argued the infrastructure was “already paid for” by the taxpayer.
A protest is being planned by residents as consultation closes next month.
