Road freight body Transporting NZ is urging the Government to “stick to its knitting” and keep its hands out of New Zealand’s supply chain.
It comes as the Ministry of Transport recently consulted on the country’s freight and supply chain issues, with Transporting NZ providing detailed feedback on behalf of the trucking industry.
The road freight body says government has a vital role to play in New Zealand’s transport sector, especially when it comes to being a regulator and infrastructure provider, but industry needs to get on with the rest.
“There’s a real risk that Government will try and fiddle with the supply chain, which is essentially an instrument of the market,” Transporting NZ chief executive Nick Leggett says.
“The Government must use light touch regulation and should instead focus on investment in big infrastructure to facilitate better transport links.”
Transporting NZ supports the Government’s approach to taking a longer-term view of the supply chain, particularly with regard to decarbonisation of the transport sector.
“Better, safer roads allow more efficient driving, faster travel times and they reduce congestion. These factors all assist in reducing emissions and are why we are calling on the Government to commit to new roading projects urgently,” Leggett says.
More investment in roading maintenance is vital as 93% of freight is transported on roads, he adds.
“The road transport industry would also not be opposed to investment in such projects as a dry dock that would reduce the time our ships have to be away in Australia for maintenance.
“We also support co-operation around an offshore freight shipping hub to handle major freight coming into the country, which would pave the way for the greater use of coastal shipping, therefore reducing some reliance on linehaul road transport.”
“Such a hub would also reduce our reliance on international shipping lines who may choose not to call in New Zealand,” Leggett says.
“As the report reveals, we are only 4% of the global shipping market and are at the end of the chain. That represents real risk to New Zealand and is where the Government should be concentrating its efforts,” he says.
Supply chain paper
The New Zealand freight and supply chain issues paper outlines the main issues and opportunities in the coming decades.
It is based on discussions the Government has had with more than 100 stakeholders from across the supply chain system.
It says the aim is to create a “more resilient, productive and lower carbon freight and supply chain sector that will play a pivotal role in growing the economy, and future proof it from further international shocks.”
The paper points to a range of challenges including climate change, to adopting new technology and shifting international geopolitics. The COVID-19 pandemic has also highlighted vulnerabilities in the supply chain and it is “unlikely the system will revert to how it was before the current disruption”.
*Click here to read Transporting NZ’s submission on the Ministry of Transport’s consultation document on freight and supply chain issues.
