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‘It’s the Kiwi thing to do’: Aucklanders question fines for washing cars at home
Some Aucklanders are calling Auckland Council’s hefty $1500 fine for individuals washing their cars with cleaning products on driveways and letting soapy water run into stormwater drains “unfair”.
Thay said the rule was poorly publicised and disproportionately affected individuals rather than major polluters.
“It’s the Kiwi thing to do – wash your car at the front of the house,” said Freemans Bay resident Tony Franklin Ross after learning Aucklanders could face a $1500 fine for washing their cars with cleaning products on their own driveways, with soapy run-off flowing into stormwater systems.
The reaction followed a social media post late last year in which one user claimed a friend had been fined for washing their car at home, prompting widespread surprise and debate online.
Under amendments to the 1991 Resource Management Act introduced in September, penalties were increased for individuals and companies found to be polluting waterways, poisoning aquatic life or damaging habitats.
Individuals discharging contaminants such as cleaning products into stormwater systems faced fines of $1500, while companies could be fined up to $3000.
Auckland Council also warned organisers of community car washes, including fundraising events, to ensure run off did not enter the stormwater system if large quantities of wash water were used.
Organisers were advised to cover or block stormwater catchpits, divert wash water to unsealed ground, seek permission from Watercare to discharge into the sewer system, block catchpit outflows and remove excess water using wet vacuums.
Freemans Bay resident Tony Franklin Ross, who lives in Auckland’s Freemans Bay, says local bylaws covering cash washes at home are not well advertised. Photo: RNZ / Yiting Lin
Ross said he had no idea such a fine existed.
“It’s totally unfair,” he said.
Ross said the rule was not well advertised or publicised, and questioned why residents were being penalised given the scale of infrastructure upgrades underway.
“Well, considering Freemans Bay and our area, we’re paying how many millions if not billions on the interceptor to separate our water systems so that we don’t have that sort of problem,” he said.
“Why are we having all that work done if it’s still going to be problems in terms of what goes into the stormwater system? … It seems a bit crazy, that’s what storm water is there for.”
Photo: 123RF
Silverdale resident Nadir Tottabaduge said he was also unaware of the fine and was shocked by its size.
“I’m very surprised that it is a $1500 fine,” he said.
“It is too much because I think there are new builds that actually have very small spaces and they don’t have a huge space to park your car or wash your car, so it is not fair.”
He said many new developments were poorly designed, with limited driveway space and narrow roads.
“It’s not fair and actually they’re grabbing a lot of money from us rather than providing a lot of good service,” he said.
Tottabaduge said he preferred washing his car at home because professional car washes were expensive.
Kim, who lives in West Auckland, believes penalties should be proportional to income. Photo: RNZ / Yiting Lin
An Auckland resident named Kim, who did not want to share her surname with RNZ, said she was also unaware of the rule or the fine.
She said penalties should be proportional to income, and argued councils should focus on larger polluters.
“I understand it is polluting, but like there are people doing way worse polluting,” she said. “If you’re not starting at the top and you’re just hitting the bottom, are you really doing anything at all?
“This doesn’t feel very science-based or statistics-based to me.”
Kim, who lives in West Auckland, said fines such as these, as well as speeding fines, affected lower income households more than wealthier ones and were not addressing the root of the problem.
“I don’t see the point,” she said.
Auckland Council has been approached for comment.
rnz
The chief executive of the Parliamentary Service is confident there will be enough room to accommodate the increased number of MPs and their staff coming into Parliament.
On current numbers, up to 131 MPs could be sitting in the Chamber following the election, brought on by a record overhang result.
Clerk of the House of Representatives Dr David Wilson told the Spinoff that currently the debating chamber had enough chairs to seat 124 MPs – including the Speaker of the House – and work was being done to accommodate more by altering the seating arrangement.
In a statement, Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said planning for a larger Parliament had been going for “some time”.
“Now that the election results have confirmed an increase to the number of members we are looking at several options.
“We are confident we will be able to accommodate all members within the Chamber.”
VNP / Phil Smith
Gonzalez-Montero said office accommodation for members and their staff would be “stretched” for a short time, but the new Members’ Building was only a few months away from “practical completion”.
That building – located behind Parliament – was due to be ready to occupy in April next year and had capacity to accommodate around 30 backbench MPs.
“All members should be in fit-for-purpose accommodation from that point,” Gonzalez-Montero said.
Following the 2023 election, 123 MPs sat in the Chamber – a record number at the time. That decreased to 122 following the resignation of National MP Judith Collins.
Collins held the seat of Papakura and stepped down in May and Parliament voted against holding a by-election because it was too close to the election.
The election result also meant high-ranking National Party MPs like Chris Bishop, Paul Goldsmith, Nicola Willis and Gerry Brownlee – Speaker of the House and an MP for 30 years – would likely not make it back into Parliament.
Only resigning or retiring MPs were permitted to give a valedictory speech meaning none of them would get the chance to give a valedictory statement.
Asked if their would be special allowances for valedictories, Wilson said in a statement that normally only MPs were allowed to speak in the House but the House could suspend its own rules or temporarily alter them.
“It could do so to allow former members to address the House.”
Wilson said no such arrangements could be made until the next Parliament opened and members sworn in.
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