Summary
The Land Transport (Revenue) Amendment Bill passed its first reading on 18 November 2025, with Parliament voting under urgency. New Zealand National, New Zealand Labour, ACT New Zealand, and New Zealand First all voted for the bill, sending it to the Transport and Infrastructure Committee.
The Select Committee is taking feedback on the bill until 11.59pm on Thursday 08 January 2026. Submissions can be made here. On that page the bill is described as…
“This bill seeks to ensure that key revenue tools effectively support a user-pays basis for funding land transport. It would do so by:
• creating a more flexible and responsive tolling framework to support investment in roading infrastructure
• modernising the road user charges system, and remove barriers to the future transition of all light vehicles from fuel excise duty to road user charges.”
As currently drafted, the bill:
- Weakens the restrictions that forbid turning existing roads into toll roads, allowing existing roads close to a new toll road to be made part of the tolling system.
- Weakens the restrictions that require toll roads to have a feasible, untolled alternative route. At this stage this change appears to target only “classes of heavy vehicles”, effectively allowing the Minister of Transport to coerce such vehicles to use the toll road with threats of fines if they use alternative routes.
- Aims to make tolls “adjust annually by the Consumers Price Index”, meaning the price of tolls will automatically increase with inflation each year
- Makes the “registered person” liable for paying tolls rather than the “driver”.
- Aims to use road tolling to “unlocking private investment” in roads, allowing “a private sector person” to “receive a commercial return on investment”.
- Aims to “optimise toll rate setting” with the Minister to “consider the maximum revenue potential of the tolling scheme, the benefits that users may receive from the tolling scheme, and the effects of the toll on the wider network”.
- Allows for digital Road User Charges (RUC) and associated digital licences.
- Creates the role of “RUC providers” for private companies to monitor vehicle travel, issue RUC licences, provide “alternative payment schemes”, and collect revenue.
The bill passed its first reading, with MPs voting along party lines as described in Hansard…
“A party vote was called for on the question, That the Land Transport (Revenue) Amendment Bill be now read a first time.
Ayes 102 New Zealand National 49; New Zealand Labour 34; ACT New Zealand 11; New Zealand First 8.
Noes 21 Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 15; Te Pāti Māori 4; Ferris; Kapa-Kingi.
Motion agreed to.
Bill read a first time.”
Quotes from the bill’s explanatory note
“The Bill amends the Land Transport Management Act 2003 (the LTMA) to expand the circumstances under which existing roads may be tolled so that this may occur if users of an existing road experience benefits from the construction of a new road in the same corridor.
The Bill also allows toll revenue to be used on existing roads that form part of a tolling scheme, as well as the maintenance of a toll road alternative route where the Minister of Transport (the Minister) is satisfied that the local road controlling authority would otherwise be unable to fund this itself.
The Bill allows the Minister to restrict certain classes of heavy vehicles from using a designated toll road alternative route by notice and provides for an infringement offence to allow this provision to be enforced. The Bill otherwise maintains the requirement that toll roads should have a feasible, untolled alternative route available to road users.”
“To support tolling as a means of unlocking private investment in transport, the Bill expands the delegation and leasing powers in the LTMA to existing toll roads, as well as roads that form a link between 2 toll roads that are subject to the same concession arrangement.
The Bill also clarifies that a private sector person can receive a commercial return on investment and that the funds the Government raises from a concession arrangement can be spent on new road projects.
The Bill will also improve operational efficiency by shifting the liability to pay a toll from a vehicle’s driver to its registered person”.
Links
The Select Committee page (feedback open until 11.59pm on Thursday 08 January 2026).
The bill text:
https://www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2025/0226/latest/whole.html#LMS1543916
The Parliamentary debate on the bill’s first reading:
https://www3.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/combined/HansD_20251118_20251118
Further reading on this issue:
Petition to “Stop New Zealand’s Electronic Road User Charges (eRUC) Surveillance System”
KPMG International Publication – “The Great Reset: Emerging trends in infrastructure and transport”
AA on Road Pricing: Member Views and the Association’s Position
New Zealand Initiative Report: Driving Change – How road pricing can improve our roads
AA on Road Pricing: Member Views and the Association’s Position
