The Minister of Transport writes back

19 January 2026

Regular readers will know that we’ve now written three (TORU!) letters to the Minister of Transport protesting transport policy changes that have increased vehicle emissions without considering their impact. With exemplary promptness, officials have responded to our December 2025 letter as follows (our emphasis in bold):

On Tue, 6 Jan 2026, 1:11 pm Info, <info@transport.govt.nz> wrote:

Kia ora,

Thank you for your email dated 22 December 2025 to the Minister of Transport. The Minister’s Office has asked the Ministry of Transport to reply to your questions on the Minister’s behalf.

Officials at the Ministry of Transport have advised GHG emissions were the only externality costs calculated as part of the decision to reduce the Standard’s charges for 2026 and 2027. The analysis that will be undertaken to inform the 2026 review of the Standard will include estimates for noxious emissions.

I hope this information is of assistance.

Ngā mihi nui,

[name redacted to protect personal privacy]
Ministry of Transport Te Manatū Waka

We are disappointed that emissions of harmful pollutants were not considered when the charges for noncompliance with the Clean Car Standard were reduced. We note that the ‘indicative’ modelling estimated an increase of up to 83kT in GHG emissions between 2026 and 2050 and we are concerned that similar increases in harmful emissions will impact on public health.

We welcome the Ministry’s decision to assess the costs and impacts of harmful pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions when making changes to transport regulations. This is critical evidence the Minister needs to make informed statements about what is and isn’t affordable.

We will keep you posted.