The Government has announced that it is finally putting some investment into new roads.
About time!
Unfortunately, the $5.5 billion spend still leaves plenty of critical projects on the to-do list and with constant uncertainty created by the competing interests of the three parties in Government it is still debateable whether even the announced projects will make it to completion.
It is particularly frustrating for the road transport industry that important projects such as the East-West Link in Auckland and the four-laning of Christchurch to Ashburton were conspicuously absent from the Government’s big announcement.
These are major freight routes that require significant improvements to help reduce the time and cost of doing business, not only for freight operators but also for exporters and consumers.
While there are some worthwhile projects that are to receive funding, including Penlink, the Tauranga Northern Link and Otaki to north of Levin, the reality is that this was an announcement cynically timed for an election following over two years of complete refusal to build any new roads.
I am becoming more and more convinced that New Zealand needs to completely depoliticise transport infrastructure.
The mechanism is there with the creation of the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission tasked with developing a 30-year infrastructure strategy.
However, I fear that the hurdle of gaining broad public agreement for the strategy will derail the commission right from the start.
Political parties have long preyed on these divisions to justify overturning previous government policy in transport and in many ways maintaining the status quo suits their desire to fight it out on this ideological battlefield.
Incredibly this Government can’t even maintain unity within its own ranks on transport.
I was astonished to read associate transport minister Julie-Anne Genter’s public essay criticising the new road funding after it was announced despite having obvious portfolio responsibility for it.
According to Genter, the New Zealand Upgrade falls short of what is required to “reduce climate pollution, ensuring people have enough to thrive, and protecting nature”.
She then goes on to attack the entire road transport sector as being one of the country’s worst climate polluters without any acknowledgement of the critical role it plays in New Zealand’s economic success.
Inspite adding further weight to the perception that this is a shambolic Government being pulled in various different directions by competing interests, it is extremely concerning to know that following the September election it is entirely possible that even the projects announced as part of the New Zealand Upgrade plan could be under threat.
If the Greens are in a position to form a Government with Labour alone, it strikes me as odds-on that the roading component of the New Zealand Upgrade will be shelved.
As for the future of the East-West Link or four-laning Christchurch to Ashburton, you can forget it.
Moving on, it is extremely concerning to see the impact that the coronavirus and the China close-down is having on our exporters and supporting parts of the economy.
One of the worst impacted sectors so far has been forestry, which largely relies on a Chinese timber market that has completely stalled with logs sitting on wharves at ports unable to be moved.
As of early February, the Forestry Industry Contractors Association estimated that 30% of contractors had slowed operations and 25% had closed down completely.
They also observed that 1500 forestry workers around New Zealand were out of work and we know that this trend is flowing on to the log transport industry also, with trucks parked up and contract drivers with no work to do.
Recently, I wrote to social development minister Carmel Sepuloni suggesting that the Government should consider possible tax extensions for log transport companies and remove the benefit stand-down periods for workers suddenly laid off.
The coronavirus outbreak is an extraordinary event that requires a compassionate and pragmatic response from government and I hope that this is forthcoming.
I have offered to meet with minister Sepuloni on this issue and would appreciate any operators affected contacting me with information that may help our case.
As you all know, it’s election year and transport will be a major issue.
This Government staked a great deal of political capital on delivering in transport and September 19 presents New Zealanders with an opportunity to give their verdict on whether they have headed in the right direction or not.
In order to provide the transport industry with the opportunity to hear from all the major political parties, RTF is organising a political summit similar to what we ran prior to the 2017 election.
The summit will take place at Te Papa in Wellington on Tuesday, June 30, and I’d encourage all those with an interest in the future direction of transport policy to save the date and consider attending.
More information, including registration details and a programme for the day will be available through a dedicated website to be launched soon.
