{"id":489667,"date":"2026-06-22T09:50:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T09:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/489667\/"},"modified":"2026-06-22T09:50:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T09:50:12","slug":"motorcyclists-protest-christchurch-acc-levy-hikes-ahead-of-court-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/489667\/","title":{"rendered":"Motorcyclists protest Christchurch ACC levy hikes ahead of court challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ahead of that challenge, Chapple will seek interim orders to prevent the increases from happening before the court rules on the decision\u2019s legality.<\/p>\n

\"HundredsHundreds of motorcyclists gathered on the steps of the High Court at Christchurch today in support of a legal challenge to ACC levy increases. Photo \/ Anna Heath <\/p>\n

The proceeding does not ask the court to decide whether motorcyclists should contribute to ACC levies.<\/p>\n

Instead, it focuses on whether the method used to establish and allocate those levies was lawful, rational, procedurally fair and supported by the information available to decision-makers.<\/p>\n

About 50 motorcyclists lined the steps of the High Court as Chapple prepared to enter the building for the hearing. <\/p>\n

Engines rumbled, and loud cheers erupted from the crowd in support of Chapple. <\/p>\n

\"TensTens of motorbikes arrive at the High Court at Christchurch to challenge ACC over a new engine-size levy, asking why the same rules don\u2019t apply to cars. Photo \/ Anna Heath <\/p>\n

Chapple said motorcyclists were being unfairly targeted for what was, for many, a recreational activity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe majority of motorcyclists are using motorcycles on the road as recreation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one\u2019s paying any extra because cyclists suffer a large number of injuries, or skiers, or any of the other large recreational groups who are more injury-prone than others.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be fair for motorcyclists to pay only the same as cars.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MotorcyclistsMotorcyclists lined the steps of the High Court building in Christchurch this morning. Photo \/ Anna Heath <\/p>\n

At the centre of the challenge is also ACC\u2019s use of engine capacity as a measure of risk.<\/p>\n

MAGNZ spokesperson Richard Tohu said ACC needed to explain why engine size was used to determine levies for motorcycles but not for other vehicles.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf engine capacity is a reliable and lawful basis for risk-rating vehicles, why does ACC only apply it to motorcycles?\u201d Tohu said.<\/p>\n

\u201cA high-powered performance car driven by a young driver has a very different injury-cost profile from a small hatchback, yet ACC makes no distinction.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Zealand riders are entitled to know why motorcyclists are being singled out for a methodology ACC does not apply to any other class of vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among those supporting the challenge was long-time rider Graham Sayer, who lost part of his leg following a motorcycle crash.<\/p>\n

\"GrahamGraham Sayer said he was riding a 250cc motorcycle when another driver crossed into his lane and stopped. Photo \/ Anna Heath<\/p>\n

Sayer said he was riding a 250cc motorcycle when another driver crossed into his lane and stopped.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got hit when I was riding my motorbike at 50km\/h on a 250cc motorcycle,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI now ride a 1000cc motorcycle, and they\u2019re saying that because I ride a higher cc rating, I\u2019m more prone to having accidents.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve lost a lower leg because of that injury. That happened on a 250cc – not a big bike.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not right that I\u2019m having to pay extra for the higher cc rating.<\/p>\n

\u201cA person who owns a V12 Lamborghini pays no extra for their registration because of engine size.<\/p>\n

\u201cYet because I ride a bigger motorcycle, they\u2019re saying I have to pay.\u201d<\/p>\n

In May, a mass ride-along event took place in Auckland to protest against the levy increases<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The mass ride-along began at Onepoto Domain on Auckland\u2019s North Shore before heading across the harbour bridge and looping back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ahead of that challenge, Chapple will seek interim orders to prevent the increases from happening before the court…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":489668,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[59784,3017,6636,4487,1349,27509,2959,100302,24176,21325,6712,96885,47148,182659,111,139,69,1118,26346,25394,42675,213,3057,8229,1865,132571],"class_list":["post-489667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-acc","tag-ahead","tag-challenge","tag-christchurch","tag-court","tag-gathered","tag-high","tag-hikes","tag-hundreds","tag-increases","tag-legal","tag-levy","tag-looming","tag-motorcyclists","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-of","tag-planned","tag-protest","tag-protesting","tag-sports","tag-steps","tag-they","tag-today","tag-unjustified"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=489667"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489667\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/489668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=489667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=489667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=489667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}