Closing Auckland’s port could increase the cost of imports by up to $626 million a year, according to a commissioned economic report.
This will hit Aucklanders in the pocket by around $313 and $368 a year each and a family of four between $1250 to $1470 a year, the NZIER study finds.
This would be the result of Ports of Auckland closing and if freight had to be delivered to the city from distant ports, it says.
Another impact could see $1.2 billion a year in reduced GDP nationally, fewer exports and less investment, putting jobs at risk, it says.
Carbon emissions will also rise between 121,000 and 212,000 tonnes annually as a result of further freight travel.
The report also highlights the difficulty of moving vehicles by rail which adds more “double handling”.
“Cartage by rail is more complex than cartage by road. Cargo needs to be loaded on to a train, taken to a railyard, offloaded, reloaded on to a truck and then driven to its destination. Each step adds cost and time,” the report says.
Ports of Auckland chief executive Tony Gibson says some people claim that closing Auckland’s port would not increase prices, “but this is not true”.
“Currently, the price of imports through distant ports like Tauranga is kept low by competition.
“Think of it as the ‘Gull effect’ for ports. Just as opening a Gull petrol station lowers prices at stations nearby, having a port in Auckland keeps import prices low.”
“I am also very concerned about the increase in carbon emissions that would be caused by using distant ports to handle Auckland’s freight.
“This does not seem to be in line with the aims of the Zero Carbon Act, nor does it seem wise given the urgent need to tackle climate change,” he says.
