New Clean Car Discount rebates and fees from 1 April 2022
So far only rebates have been granted for fully electric (EV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles coming to NZ, but from 1 April 2022 the fee component of the Clean Car Discount scheme for dirty vehicles that emit 192g/km CO2 or more will kick in. It's shown in the orange part of the image below.
Right-wing political parties and Groundswell NZ were quick to call the fee a "ute tax", but of course we all know that this is actually nonsense - it's not a fee for that particular type of vehicle. It just so happens that pretty much all utes brought into NZ exceed the above CO2 emissions threshold. Automobile manufacturers are used to NZ being a willing market for their dirtiest and highest-emitting vehicles. We're only too happy to buy them because we're uneducated or indifferent enough to care about carbon emissions and air pollution, or because we pretend that we don't have an alternative (which makes this story all the more enjoyable).
For those of us who need a high-emitting ute (or think we do, because Brian two doors down has got one, and we need to keep up), the best way to avoid the "ute tax", ahem, fee is to buy a used vehicle that is already in NZ and has been polluting here for a while. And there is a healthy market developing for those, as more and more of us switch to fuel-efficient vehicles and trade in our guzzlers - which is actually not paying that well. So there will be heaps of great-looking utes available shortly, as the wealthy among us replace our Remuera tractors with Teslas, and cheap as dirt, literally.
The fee is only charged on new or used high-emitting vehicles that enter NZ for the first time, which is exactly what we don't want - more dirty cars that spend up to 20 years on our roads. So let's just stick with what's here already, and voila - no fee, no tax, and cheap to buy, too - just as we like it.
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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61.7% Summer
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36.7% Winter
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1.6% Other - I'll share below
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