Massive expansion of Sydney tolls proposed
www.theage.com.au
February 1, 2006 - 11:52AM
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All users of major Sydney roads would pay small tolls under a proposal put forward by former NSW auditor-general Tony Harris.
Testifying before a NSW parliamentary inquiry into the controversial Cross City Tunnel tollway, Mr Harris said Sydney was more dependant on privately-owned toll roads than any other major city in the word.
He argued there were better ways to finance urban roads than using privately owned toll roads, such as imposing new petrol taxes.
Alternatively, car owners could pay a tax based on mileage when they registered their cars, Mr Harris said.
Or, the government could charge all users of major roads to fund additions to the network.
"Charge people not just for using the M2 but for using Victoria Road, using the Anzac Bridge and using Military Road and using a host of other roads, to lower the burden on a per kilometre basis, but spread the burden across all users," Mr Harris told the inquiry.
Mr Harris said governments had inextricably linked themselves to the private ownership of metropolitan roads.
"It's my view and probably the view of every economist with whom I've spoken about this that that is a bad policy which imposes considerable costs on the community," he said.
Mr Harris said if the NSW Labor government had halved its debt repayments over the past 10 years it could have paid for new roads itself instead of commissioning private tollways.
- AAP
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