Air New Zealand’s not happy with the upcoming travel tax increase for people leaving Australia.
Australia already charges one of the highest fees in the world for travelling overseas - and it’s about to be hiked further.
The Federal Government has announced it's increasing the Passenger Movement Charge by another AU$10 (NZ$10.70), which will put it at AU$70 (NZ$74.70) per passenger.
The updated fee was announced in last night’s budget documents, and comes into effect from July 1, 2024.
However, Air New Zealand’s Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Mat Bolland told 1News the increase will hurt people.
"There are already more taxes for someone travelling from Auckland to Sydney return than there is to Los Angeles, despite it being a fifth of the distance," he said.
"Travel between Australia and New Zealand is too important to friendships, families and businesses to add costs where they aren’t justified."
Other budget bits for Kiwis
The Australian Government’s also pledged $8 million over the next four years to help Kiwis caught up in natural disasters.
It’s a support measure which was welcomed by Kiwis who had homes destroyed during record-breaking floods in New South Wales last year.
The Federal Government’s also been weighing up the money involved for the direct pathway to Australian citizenship for New Zealanders who’ve been living in Australia for several years.
In documents released overnight, officials say the new measure is estimated to increase payments for "government services and benefits by AU$1.3 billion (NZ$1.4 billion) over five years from 2022–23 and increase receipts by AU$795 million (NZ$848.8 million) over five years from 2022–23".
The new citizenship pathway comes into effect from July 1, 2023.
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