New Zealand’s first-ever national freight and supply chain strategy has been released with the aim of improving the productivity and resilience to disruptions of our ports, freight and shipping sectors.
Transport minister David Parker announced the strategy on August 18 at Ruakura Inland Port, part of Hamilton’s major new freight and logistics development.
The first issues paper was released in April last year and the final strategy was based on talking to many people in the freight and supply chain industry. It received 83 submissions and more than 500 pages of feedback through the public consultation process.
The strategy document sets out a 30-year direction to prepare New Zealand for the future. Accompanying the strategy document is a plan of immediate actions focusing on the most urgent, important, or achievable work in the short term that sets the country up for longer-term initiatives.
It sets out nine strategic goals for the next 10 years which includes decarbonising freight routes and infrastructure, evidence-based decision making for freight, and reliable and adaptive long-term plans for the freight system.
“This work will help to ensure that New Zealand’s freight system is more efficient, reliable, and makes better contributions to the country’s climate goals,” Parker says.
“Work in these areas will include identifying strategic freight corridors and looking at operating models. It will include work to set up a grant scheme for clean heavy vehicles, and policy changes to better enable them to operate on our roads.
“COVID-19, severe weather events, and the war in Ukraine all highlighted vulnerabilities in our international freight connections that have limited the availability of key goods and services, raised prices, and created uncertainty.
“This strategy is a launch pad to work with port owners, port companies, shipping lines and freight operators on a more strategic and coordinated approach,” Parker says.
The strategy calls for greater data sharing and inter-operability which will allow government and the sector to have more visibility of their supply chains, helping freight to keep moving more efficiently in any future crisis.
“New Zealand has already signed up to international agreements to reduce air pollution from ships. This strategy takes those commitments a step further, by working with the private sector on areas like research into zero-emissions technologies and encouraging businesses to use them,” Parker says.
“The strategy also supports decarbonisation of the trucking sector, by ensuring it is well positioned to shift to zero emissions vehicles. This includes removing regulatory barriers to battery and hydrogen-powered vehicles, and the launch of the clean heavy vehicle grant scheme,” he says.
Freight industry bodies National Road Carriers Association (NRC) and the NZ Trucking Association (NTA)are welcoming the strategy which they say is a “pragmatic document”.
NRC policy and advocacy general manager James Smith says the freight and supply system has been lacking aspirational targets but the strategy helps address this and the time horizons in the document are helpful.
“The collaborative focus of the strategy is what is necessary to face the challenges the strategy outlines.
“There has been a lack of government leadership in this area and this document is filling that vacuum,“Smith says.
The strategy’s introduction states that the freight and supply chain system underpins New Zealand’s economy.
“The system moves goods from producers to those who need them, at home and abroad. New Zealand’s economic goal is to be a high-wage, low-emissions economy that is competitive and economically secure. To do this our freight and supply chain system needs to work well,” it says.
“The COVID-19 pandemic and extreme weather events at the start of 2023 showed us how vulnerable our system could be.
“Freight connections to communities and markets were impaired and, in some cases, cut off, which had serious economic and social costs.
“Previously considered once in a generation, these events are becoming more frequent and severe. Because of this, we need to make sure our freight and supply chain system performs well and can withstand and recover from disruptions quickly,” the document says.
Ports of Auckland chief executive Roger Gray says he fully supports the direction of the policy and the focus areas.
“The policy sets the right direction for the future of the New Zealand supply chain.”
Chris Joblin, chief executive of Tainui Group Holdings, the developer of the new Ruakura freight hub, says the strategy sets a “whole of system perspective” around the supply chain sector.
“We want Ruakura Superhub and the inland port to enable a more joined up, productive, and resilient golden triangle. Not only will this help Aotearoa New Zealand to be more competitive on the global stage, it’ll take trucks off roads and decarbonise the supply chain.
“Supply chain infrastructure is also social infrastructure. This inland port supports a local and regional ecosystem that will create a better life for thousands of households, for our iwi and all New Zealanders. Ultimately this is about people and that’s why we’re here,” Joblin says.
*Click here to read the full strategy.
