Land Transport (Revenue) Amendment Bill
You have 4 days left to make a submission on the above bill (link below). This bill should it become law will make it compulsory for you to have an Electronic GPS Road User Charge device in your vehicle.
This will allow a 3rd party operator to monitor and store all data relating to your travel, including travel route, how often, when, distance and speed. While the Government says this is only for monitoring distance, there is nothing stopping them or future governments to use it to track people and send out speed infringements for even traveling 1km over the limit at ANY point during you journey.
This 3rd party company is also there to make a profit, as such any savings at the pump by the removal of the fuel tax will simply be added back on in excess with service fees when you buy your mileage in advance. There is also an up to $15,000 fine for using a non authorized device that could be interpreted a device for for measuring distance, like a dash cam or GPS system etc. This could mean you have to buy an expensive authorised device to use for monitoring.
Given the recent wave of breeches of data from Neighbourly and Manage My Health, the Government cannot guaranty that this data will be safe from hack; or even simply sold in aggregate form to data brokers and insurance companies wanting to increase premiums based on how you drive, where you drive and how fast. My suggestion was that the MUST make a Non invasive Hubometer or similar off line device available for those of use who do not wish to install an Orwellian State Surveillance device in our cars
This bill is also attempting to add tolls to the new Warkworth to Wellsford and Bynderwyn roads when constructed, while at the same time forcing heavy transport to use these toll roads instead of the free routes. Also hidden in this bill is the ability to toll the CURRENT roads, State Highway 1 between Auckland and Whangarei, you know the ones we've been paying for for decades with the fuel tax.
The Government is trying to slip this past during the Christmas break, to avoid the public backlash or submissions. Submissions END Wednesday 7th at 11.59pm. Make your voice heard.
bills.parliament.nz...
Scam Alert: Fake information regarding December Bonuses from MSD
The Ministry of Social Development is reporting that fake information is circulating about new ‘December bonuses’ or ‘benefit increases’
If you get suspicious communication, please contact Netsafe.
Poll: Do you set New Year’s resolutions?
🎉 2026 is almost here!
We’re curious ... how do you welcome it?
Do you set resolutions, follow special traditions, or just go with the flow?
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9.9% Yes! New Year, New Me
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17% Yes - but I rarely stick to them
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73.1% Nah - not for me
Update to Neighbourly members on data breach 06/01/2025 8am
Yesterday in the High Court at Auckland, Neighbourly was successful in being granted an injunction against any unauthorised use of the data taken in a recent breach.
As we alerted you on January 1 and confirmed on January 3, our systems were accessed illegally and members’ information, including names, email addresses, GPS coordinates from the address you provided to us, forum posts and direct member communications were among the data that was accessed.
We acted immediately upon hearing of a potential breach: we temporarily disabled the site, notified members and authorities and worked with our external security consultants to understand if and how it had occurred. We then confirmed the breach with members, safely restored the site to service and began the process of seeking the injunction. Yesterday’s decision by Justice Johnstone prohibits the use of the data by any unauthorised person, and requires them to permanently delete it, or any information obtained from it.
This does not mean that vigilance against scammers is not still required: there is a large industry globally that seeks to use stolen information for identity fraud or to dupe people into providing details of their financial affairs for theft. Again, to keep yourself safe from scammers it is critical that you:
- Don’t click links in emails. Instead, type the web address directly into your browser. This helps ensure you’re visiting a real site, not a fake one
- Enable two-factor authentication where available as this adds an extra layer of security to your data
- Stay alert for phishing emails. Be cautious of unexpected emails asking for personal information, especially ones that create a sense of urgency.
Again, we want to apologise to you for this illegal access to the Neighbourly database and to assure you that we have carefully worked through how this occurred. We have safely secured the site and its services for use and ensured we have robust processes in place so this cannot happen again.
We are continuing to work with the relevant authorities, including the National Cyber Security Centre, on any further steps we need to take.
If you have any further questions please contact us via our customer support team at helpdesk@neighbourly.co.nz.
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