Waiheke residents have rallied in protest, calling for free public transport and regulated ferry fares as the island faces some of the highest fuel prices in the country.
The protest was organised by MOVE Waiheke, which is demanding measures to ease pressure on the community as households grapple with rising fuel costs.
Organiser Bianca Ranson said implementing free public transport on the island is critical to conserving limited fuel supplies.
“It’s extremely important just to make sure we are doing as much as we can to conserve the fuel for those who need it. For our firefighters, for our water trucks, for all of the really essential things, and move people over to public transport, that way there will be an incentive to do it, and overall, it will be a win for the whole island,” she says.
Pressures rising
Ferry fares between Auckland and Waiheke can reach $62 return for adults and $28 for children, while infants travel free. Pensioners with an Auckland Transport SuperGold HOP card are exempt from ferry fees.
Fuel prices on the island are currently;
Unleaded 91: $4.11
Premium 95: $4.38
Diesel: $3.83
Ranson said making public transport and ferry travel free would deliver multiple benefits for residents.
“It will help whānau, alleviating some of the costs. But it will also help conserve our fuel on the island, because people won’t need to be in their cars as much, and the third thing is we’ll be lowering emissions.”
Government support
The government has announced a relief package for working families, providing an extra $50 a week to an estimated 143,000 families.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis said the payments will begin on 7 April and remain in place for one year, or until the price of 91 octane fuel drops below $3 a litre for four consecutive weeks.
“The policy is carefully targeted to families in the squeezed middle – parents who are working hard for a living, are not eligible for main benefits, and yet have modest household incomes with which to support their children. We know these families will be hit particularly hard by the global fuel-price shock. We are delivering them timely relief," says Willis.
Ranson said broader support is needed.
“We need to see more than the $50 a week for working families, we need to see support for beneficiaries, we need to be thinking about those of our whānau who are rough sleeping or who are homeless. We need to have something that everyone has available to them to make it a little easier, and that’s free public transport.”
