the worst threat to democracy and civilization are people who are deeply ignorant spewing bullshit as if was the truth and others believing this bullshit.

Apparently you haven't looked at the price difference between an electric version of a vehicle and a petrol or even a hybrid version of the same vehicle so you believe the electric car is same cost or cheaper.

[–] RegalPotoo@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Not going to be voting National - I'd prefer a chronically underfunded public healthcare system to a US-style insurance driven private system - but:

The EV RUC exemption was supposed to be removed when the fleet reached 2% EVs - it did that ~6 months ago, but the government decided not to cos it's a bad look to do just before the election
The RUC charges are what pays for road maintenance along side fuel taxes - the exemption has to go away at some point

[–] evanuggetpi@lemmy.nz 7 points 1 year ago

I think they're talking about the discount on the purchase price of EVs.

[–] master5o1@lemmy.nz 2 points 1 year ago

Just a follow on from your health comment.

If our health system is certain to become private, I for sure hope that:

ACC remains, at minimum as-is.
there is a regulation and standardisation for basic health insurance needs (more like the Swiss system than US free for all).
there is still some sort of safety net system for those who cannot afford it.

Of course, I'd prefer a public health system.

[–] Ilovethebomb@lemmy.nz 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

National want to go to a RUCs for everyone system, which I think is the best way to handle vehicles that have multiple fuel sources such as plug in hybrids.

[–] absGeekNZ@lemmy.nz 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I have always though that RUC for all was a much better system. Having it built into fuel as an extra tax is dumb.

A big V8 that gets 15l/100km and weighs the same as a prius that gets 5l/100km are paying vastly different amounts of tax for a very similar amount of wear and tear.

Another example is our people mover (Mazda Premacy) gets around 10-11l/100km, once the kids are a bit bigger we will get a smaller much more efficient car, the wear and tear caused by our Premacy is not more than a Prius/Tesla/Focus/Corolla...yet we pay more in tax than any of those vehicles.

[–] Ilovethebomb@lemmy.nz 2 points 1 year ago

I suppose the biggest advantage is how simple the scheme is, both to administer, and as the end user. Having to keep track of my RUCs is a pain in the ass.

It would be good if they could have a system where you simply pay as you go, much like how the toll roads work.

[–] BalpeenHammer@lemmy.nz 2 points 1 year ago

No they want to make exceptions for commercial and farm vehicles.

[–] Dave@lemmy.nz 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I read that by 1 April next year it was expected to reach 1.7% but National decided that was close enough. Where do I find the figure about it already being 2%?

Edit: Oh, it's counting plug-in hybrid. Currently about 1.4% BEV and 0.6% PHEV. Not quite 2% yet, it's at 1.96% as at August 2023.

[–] HappycamperNZ@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Im curious why it was 2% as this was likely anyway.

15-20% would provide enough density for ongoing resell markets, maintenance, "fueling" stations and carbon reduction.