An Invercargill driver who says they paid $283 for parking in the city this week has been ticketed by a council parking warden for overstaying by about 15 minutes, and is asking why warnings appear to have gone.
The driver, who asked not to be named, said the overstay ticket came on top of a $200 infringement for an expired registration that lapsed last week.
"Whatever happened to warnings? People are busy," the driver told the Herald.
Parking fines are set by central government, not the council. Under changes that took effect in October 2024, fines rose by an average of 70 per cent, the minimum fine for overstaying went from $12 to $20, and overstaying by more than six hours went from $57 to $97, RNZ reported last year.
Invercargill City Council collected more than $1.14 million from 16,504 parking infringements between October 2024 and June 2025, figures the council supplied to RNZ and 1News showed.
That compared with just over $650,000 from 12,830 infringements in the same period a year earlier.
Part of the rise came because, between February and June 2024, the council did not fine drivers who skipped activating their free 30 minutes at the kiosk, while it sorted out problems with its bylaw.
Jonathan Shaw, who manages consenting and environment at the council, said last year it would rather drivers simply followed the rules.
"Ideally, there would be no revenue from parking infringements because everyone would comply with the parking rules," Mr Shaw said.
Other southern councils take a lighter approach. Clutha District Council chief executive Steve Hill told the Otago Daily Times last year that first-time offenders in Clutha generally got a printed warning, with fines kept for repeat or more serious cases.
There is no grace period for an expired registration. NZ Police say the only acceptable reason to drive a vehicle without a current registration or warrant of fitness is to take it for a WoF test.
What happens next
Drivers who believe a parking ticket is unfair can ask the council to review it; the instructions are printed on the infringement notice.
Some councils will reconsider a registration fine if the driver renews promptly and sends proof. Drivers should ask the council whether that applies before paying.
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