Labour Performs Dizzying U-Turn on Driver Licensing

Friday, August 17 2001
Penny Webster Press Releases -- Transport (

Labour has done a complete U-turn on driver licensing fees, ACT Transport Spokesman MP Penny Webster said today.

"In Opposition, Labour railed against increasing licence fees. Now they're going to hike fees for most people by $15.

"In March 1999, Labour's then-Transport spokesman Harry Duynhoven said higher charges 'hurt the most those in isolated areas such as Northland who struggle to afford licences at the moment'.

"Now that he's in Government, Mr Duynhoven and his colleagues have stopped caring about those poverty-stricken people in Northland. There is apparently one rule for Opposition and another for Government.

"Lowering the fees for elderly people while hiking them for everybody else is unfair. Discrimination of this type pits one group of people against another.

"Some elderly find the licence fees really expensive. On the other hand, some young families do too. How can the Government draw a line and say, 'if you were born before this date, you can get a special deal'?

"Today's move highlights the hypocrisy of the Labour Government: discrimination and inequity are okay, so long as Labour and Alliance are the ones doing the discriminating," Penny Webster said.

For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at act@parliament.govt.nz.

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