My neighbour recently installed an external water filter that filters all the water entering their house. I asked why they needed this. His response: the water coming out of the taps tastes terrible. I have noticed that, so has my neighbour on the other side.

This got me thinking (something I have been repeatedly warned not to do). My neighbours, like myself, pay rates to the local council. Out of these rates, they add chemicals to the water to kill the bugs and make it fit for purpose but the chemicals end up putting a bad taste in the water. So, we then spend money buying in-line filters to remove the chemicals. There must be a better way, surely?

I have had a Post Office mailbox, a private box, since the mid-1990s. Back then, it was a convenient thing to have, but when the next invoice for payment comes in, I will be cancelling it because I have come to realise that I am paying for a service that the people who send me mail have already paid for. When you put a stamp on an envelope, the stamp’s cost includes the cost of delivery to the address on it. If it is going to a PO Box, the renter of the box must pay for the box – effectively they are paying a fee to have their mail delivered, a cost that the sender has already paid.

Likewise, it seems a bit stupid that government agencies such as the defence force and fire service pay road-user charges. The government allocates money to these organisations, who then buy RUC, which goes back to the government. The agencies, incurring transaction charges along the way, then claim the cost of RUC as an operational expense. Wouldn’t it be much simpler if the government just transferred the estimated cost of RUC purchases for these agencies directly to NZTA at the beginning of the year, removing all the double or more handling?

These agencies would still be paying their contribution towards road maintenance, but instead of directly paying it, the payment would be indirect; this must be more efficient than what we have now, even with the electronic RUC systems available.

In January this year, NZTA released for “consultation” its document Preliminary decision to allow drivers who hold a class 1 driver licence to drive electric trucks weighing 6000-7500kg (available at the public consultation hub at nzta.govt.nz). The purpose of this is explained clearly in the title, it was scheduled to come into effect on 28 February 2024 and is to be place for two years. Currently, drivers of these vehicles require a class 2 licence. Included in the reasons listed for this exemption, NZTA says: “An exemption would have a positive effect by removing some of the regulatory burden and associated costs on businesses wanting to replace their diesel trucks with equivalent e-trucks. For example, there are additional costs and training associated with gaining a class 2 driver licence.”

Data provided to the writer by NZTA suggests there were over 11,000 new class 2 licenses issued for the year ended December 2023. It would be a stretch to suggest that the majority of these were to allow a person to drive an electric truck with a GLW greater than 6000kg. But congratulations to NZTA; it must be one of the few regulatory bodies in the world that believes the weight of a truck or bus is less important to road safety than the fuel it uses. It may even be a world-first. Two things stand out for me reading through the proposed exemption: there is no indication as to how compliance with work time and logbooks would be addressed, neither is there any reference as to how the requirements to hold a goods service licence, currently required for goods service vehicles over 6000kg will be addressed. We wait and see what NZTA’s workaround for these will be.

Some years back, the Road Transport Forum and NZTA proposed to the Ministry of Transport to lift the threshold of class 1 driver licences to 7500kg to align with some overseas jurisdictions. The MOT rejected the proposal because of its adverse effects on road safety. One must conclude, therefore, that these adverse effects do not occur for an electric vehicle but remain for a diesel-powered one. The detail behind this theory would make interesting reading.