Yes to user charges, if fair and reasonable
I accept that road user charges on hybrid vehicles changes are required, but the tax paid should be fair and equitable.
Most comments so far have been based on total comparative ownership costs including the petrol tax. That is not relevant to the taxation situation.
For the vehicle that I own which is an MG PHEV, the proposed $53/1000km in addition to the charges on the petrol that I consume would result in me paying more tax per kilometre than any other type of vehicle, including a full electric vehicle.
Example: Taxation for my vehicle based on 12,000km per annum fuel usage recorded by the vehicle’s system of 6.1l/100k and petrol tax of 76 cents per litre: road user tax at $53/1000k is $636; petrol tax on 6.1/100k is $556; Total tax: $1192.
A full EV any type @$73/1000 is $876, and a standard vehicle with 8.6l/100k is $784
You can see from these figures that owners of similar hybrid vehicles to mine will pay considerably more tax than other vehicle owners. This is due to double taxation.
Note: the MG model I have is a mid-range priced vehicle. Even if the figures are adjusted for a lower petrol usage, say 4.5/100, a hybrid user will pay $1046 which is more than a petrol or full EV vehicle as shown above.
Will Harvey
Wanaka
Treaty matters
There are several articles etc referring to a leaked ministerial memo about the Treaty.
The memo’s summary is stated: ‘‘The Bill will also change the nature of the principles from reflecting a relationship akin to a partnership between the Crown and Māori to reflecting the relationship the Crown has with all citizens of New Zealand. This is not supported by either the spirit of the Treaty or the text of the Treaty.’’
And thus it shows the shortcomings of the Treaty in its divisiveness in that around one-third of our population are excluded from Treaty.
The preamble of the Treaty clarifies that the Crown is only representing the British. So what about the continental Europeans, Pasifika, Asians and other people who are neither British nor Māori?
To include in them in the Crown is also not supported by the spirit and the text of the Treaty.
So we need something new that transcends the outdated Treaty so all peoples are included not just two.
Ralf Schruba
Dunedin
Civis says ‘‘Te Tiriti … has been in force since 1840.’’ (ODT 20.1.24).
Treaties that are broken are nullities. The Treaty of Versailles was broken by the remilitarisation of the Rhineland. The settlement of the 1939-45 war that followed was not agreed to by a revival of the Treaty of Versailles. Having been broken it no longer obtained.
Similarly the Treaty of Waitangi. It was broken in 1843 and neither it nor the later land wars that were put down by British troops were followed by a renewal of Te Tiriti.
Not only peace treaties but trade treaties also come and go. The first trade treaty New Zealand signed with Japan in 1928 has no force today. It became defunct decades ago.
The Treaty of Waitangi has its current force because of the Treaty of Waitangi Act of 1975.
As a law of the New Zealand Parliament it is for the New Zealand Parliament to define what it means on behalf of the people of New Zealand. How better to learn what all of the people of New Zealand want it to mean than by first putting a possible definition up for consultation so that those especially interested may contribute to its refinement, and then putting the refined version to a referendum?
Rosemary McQueen
Dunedin
Discerning what is fact and what is fiction
The recent disclosure regarding that the TV1 show Country House Hunters has misled its viewers by using a house that the ‘‘prospective buyers’’ had previously owned, and did not disclose this, make viewers wonder how many other TV programmes are also ‘‘created for a bit of TV magic’’ that we are asked to believe. It is reported that many of the buyers had already purchased and were living in the ‘‘potential’’ houses before filming.
Do the contestants on The Chase know the answers to their questions beforehand, is 1News at Six made up of make-believe segments? We probably all realise that Shortland Street is a fictional hospital, and many other drama programmes are just that, drama.
But when programmes that are supposed to be real life and are found not to be, this questions the credibility and honesty expected from our national broadcaster by the viewing public. If Matt Gibb is a journalist he has lost credibility and he is doing his craft no good by misleading viewers. If he is a real estate salesman with no integrity, probably it is what the public expect, but it makes those people who are supposed to be the ‘‘house buyers’’ look stupid if they have been party to the deception.
Maybe those who work in the TV industry think the public is gullible and worship everything they produce. I think from now on I will just watch Dad’s Army, which is on at the same time slot. At least I know it is fictional.
Neil Dickson
Kurow
Identifying the problem
The problem is not the roads, it’s the people behind the wheel that's the problem. They are impatient and drive like there is no tomorrow and need to take their foot off the accelerator and put their lights on when its foggy. That may decrease the road toll considerably.
Lyn Miller
Purakaunui
Spent time at bridge, but where to go?
I've just had my first chance to see the new Beaumont bridge and walk over the old one. There is a well set up car park with picnic tables and plenty of room for parking.
In fact there were several cars at the time of my visit, many with bicycle racks and people eating.
The problem is, where do you go to the toilet?
Kathy Woodrow
Dunedin
Discharged
Given the Invercargill police’s indifference to discharging a firearm in an urban area, and the like-minded approach by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, to the shooting of a pet cat, one wonders which page of their guidelines both organisations are reading from.
R. S. Hogan
Waikouaiti
Never forget
So the International Court of Justice is considering if Israel is guilty of ‘‘genocide’’?
I find that a bit rich, coming from Europe, with its staggering history of genocide. Especially to the European Jews. Have we forgotten Hitler already?
The Milice, 5th Column, Ovra, Ustachi, and the Grand Mufti of the 1940s? This never-ending persecution of the Jews. I recall my late mother saying, ‘‘anti-Semitism is anti-Christ, as Christ was Jewish’’. Somehow, that seems to make sense.
Gordon Weare
Warrington
No offence
To be clear, there is no offence of ‘‘shoplifting'’. The crime is theft, as outlined in the Crimes Act 1961.
D. B. Shaw
Central Otago
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