Another stolen policy

Labour’s stolen adopted another policy from National.  Yesterday they announced that all money from petrol taxes would go into the Land Transport Fund instead of the consolidated fund.

This has been National policy since 2005.  This is what Pete Hodgson said at the time in response:

Transport Minister Pete Hodgson says double the $546 million diverted from fuel tax into the Crown Account is spent on the transport system and – as a recent Transport Ministry survey shows – road users are not even paying their way.

“The argument around the diversion of fuel duty into the Crown account is meaningless … shifting it around does not alter the fact that the amount shifted does not cover costs,” he says.

If National wants to spend an extra $4 billion on transport over nine years it must say whether it will be taking the money from education or health.

So should we ask Pete how many hospitals will close due to this move, or does this magically only happen if National does it?

This is a good reminder why National has to be careful not to release all of its policy too early.  Labour are adept at damning it one month and adopting it the next.