Council has been tasked by Central Government with implementing new infringement fees announced earlier this week.

Local Authorities have no control over the setting of infringement fees; they are the delegated authority for monitoring and enforcing stationary parking offences.

For most fees, Te Manatū Waka - Ministry of Transport has applied a CPI adjustment but as this is the first review since 2004 this has resulted in at least a 70 per cent increase in infringement fees across the board. For example, the penalty for overstaying in a car park for more than 30 minutes has gone from $12 to $20. The increases apply to stationary vehicle offences only with offences relating to vehicle compliance such as REGOs, WOFs and COFs excluded at this point.

Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston and Transport Minister Simeon Brown said the Government would be cracking down on people who misused car parks for disabled people, ensuring towage fees do not leave tow-truck operators out of pocket, and adjusting parking fines for inflation when announcing the new penalties earlier this week. This includes a $750 infringement fee for misuse of a mobility parking space – an increase from $150.

“Parking infringement fees have not been updated in two decades, making councils’ role in managing public parking increasingly difficult. For example, in Auckland, this has meant that paying a parking ticket is sometimes cheaper than paying for parking,” Transport Minister Simeon Brown said.

The new stationary vehicle infringement fees take effect from 1 October 2024.

Read the full media release from The Minister of Transport and the Minister for Disability Issues here: www.beehive.govt.nz/release/government-update-parking-penalties

For more details on the new infringement fees go to: www.marlborough.govt.nz/services/parking/parking-infringements

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