7 minute read
It’s political
WHAT THE POLITICIANS THINK ABOUT TRUCKING
THE NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING INDUSTRY FACES many challenges – many of them influenced by Government policy.
Apart from the many problems currently created by the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s the ongoing driver shortage, the worsening state of the nation’s roading network and looming emissions reduction legislation…
So, who among our political parties offers any salvation for the industry in these situations?
To have some insight into what politicians are thinking about issues impacting the road transport industry, NZ Truck & Driver has offered each of the major political parties the opportunity to voice their views on trucking matters each month.
This month, the ACT Party and the National Party take up the opportunity. T&D
Why congestion charging is the answer
By Simon Court, ACT Party spokesperson on transport
AUCKLAND LOSES $1.3BILLION EACH YEAR TO TRAFFIC
congestion, according to a 2017 report commissioned by the Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA), Auckland International Airport, Infrastructure New Zealand, Ports of Auckland and the National Road Carriers Association.
Auckland Transport said an additional 16,600 cars – that’s 330 per week – were registered in 2019. There is no way road capacity has increased to meet that extra demand.
COVID lockdowns saw far fewer private vehicles on the road at peak hour and reminded truckies of how much easier it was to get around 10 years ago, before Auckland added around 300,000 people and their cars to our city streets.
Ten years ago I was planning construction projects, and relied on four loads a day from quarries to the Auckland CBD. Now contractors tell me they plan for three, but sometimes only get two loads – due to congestion and traffic management plans that limit when they can operate….because of congestion.
Running costs are increasing, and the Government continues to collect billions of dollars in road user charges, fuel excise duty and the Auckland Regional Fuel Tax, intended to finance roading projects.
The benefits of paying all those taxes are lost on road users as vital infrastructure projects designed to fix congestion, like the East West Link and Mill Road, were cancelled by the Government.
Electric and hybrid vehicles are mostly exempt from road user charges and obviously pay nothing in terms of fuel excise duty. These vehicles are great at reducing carbon emissions but continue to use the roads that others are paying for.
As hydrogen and battery-powered trucks become more common, they won’t be paying for roads through fuel taxes, so the cost of transport infrastructure will fall unfairly on firms and owner-drivers who buy low-emissions, fuel-efficient trucks.
That means we need to look at other ways of funding and financing road projects – like congestion charging.
ACT would support congestion charging if it meant that trucks and tradies would spend less time stuck in traffic, and that the money raised would go back into transport projects, which actually benefitted road users.
If congestion charging reduced traffic at peak times a business could confidently tell a customer their delivery would arrive on time. A contractor could get an extra load of concrete each day and build stuff faster than they can now.
Done right, congestion charging could free up road space for trucks and tradies and ensure sustainable cashflow for vital infrastructure projects. T&D Simon Court
It’s political...
By David Bennett, National Party spokesperson for Transport, Horticulture and Biosecurity
David Bennett
THE GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO PRIORITISE STRATEGIC
infrastructure spending so that limited resources are utilised best.
We can take a step-by-step approach that delivers a longterm, interconnected infrastructure plan.
First, we require a balanced and incremental approach. We recognise the need for public transport in our major centres, just like we recognise the need to maintain our roads and bridges in our regions.
This Government has lost its way around infrastructure, as it has become a politicised system characterised by planning and nondelivery. This Government’s ideological opposition to roads limits our country’s infrastructure plan.
There is an opportunity to take a more strategic approach. The Infrastructure Commission’s Draft New Zealand Infrastructure Strategy is a good starting point. It identifies methods that could be utilised to create such infrastructure planning.
Auckland will demand the lion’s share of future funding as we continue to develop a world-class city. This Government is wholly focused on the Auckland Light Rail project. However, the larger growth cells in Auckland are in the west, north and south.
The Minister has confirmed that the Auckland Light Rail project would proceed as it is fulfilling a “manifesto commitment.” Surely an investment of this magnitude should not be a politicised decision, but rather one that stacks up in the best interests of NZ infrastructure and transport users.
Such significant transport spending could be more effectively used in providing public transport to higher growth rate areas. The last National Government started the City Rail Link project, and it’s about having the next strategically-vital project to link into this network.
The Waikato and the Bay of Plenty present a real opportunity to build infrastructure as the population grows in real time. Together they will be comparable to the whole of the South Island in population. Projects like the Takitimu North link are crucial growth projects and to have them cut in the review of the NZ Upgrade Programme (NZUP) is a blow to our fastest-growing communities.
Our provinces and their main centres have an important role as major foreign exchange-earners in our economy. The roads and bridges in the regions are crucial to allow our primary sector to function.
Secondly, there is the need to meet climate change. Climate change will mean technology will become paramount. Whether it’s hydrogen, biofuels or electric vehicles, the technology is advancing, and we should be open to utilising the best emissions options in a staged way.
The Government is taking a strict approach that doesn’t reflect industry supply lines. It is focusing on public transport and walking
It’s political...
and cycling initiatives as the mechanisms to reduce emissions.
Currently, we have the Clean Vehicles Bill before Parliament. The intent of the Bill, to reduce emissions, is supported; however, the mechanisms used are not.
Car manufacturers have appeared in front of the committee, pointing out that the NZ right-hand-drive market aligns with Australian specifications. At 0.2% of the world market, thinking we can force overseas car manufacturers to meet the requirements in the timeframe is nonsense. For example, there are no alternatives for the trusty ute. Car manufacturers are requesting that we don’t have higher standards than the European left-hand-drive market.
All we will have is a glorified target and many older, more fuelefficient vehicles on the road. We should be seeking to update our car fleet with hybrid and other vehicles that involve fewer emissions.
Compare the NZ Government’s approach with Australia’s more pragmatic approach to reducing emissions: They are focusing on fleet vehicles first, to build supply for the general market. They are not taking a taxation approach, but are instead increasing the supply of renewable energy, charging stations and future fuel mixes.
Z Energy has prepared research showing the opportunity to use more biofuels is practical for NZ. This would achieve greater emissions reductions in the short to medium term. Our vehicles are based on the Japanese market, and they have achieved more from hybrids than Europe has on electric vehicles.
The Government should be building the charging infrastructure and increasing our renewable generation capacity to get back to more renewable sources of power. Instead, our renewable sources of power have plummeted, leaving a future infrastructure deficit in the capacity to power electric vehicles when they are available.
We should be looking at our infrastructure options to increase our renewable energy and charging sites, access more fuel types, and renew our fleet. These initiatives would achieve more environmentally than what is being proposed.
Overall, the Government’s fixation with its pet projects and the strict approach to climate change solutions will mean a skewed transport system. This system will be heavily weighted towards public transport and walking and cycling....and not the balance needed to construct a robust multi-modal transport system that will provide solutions for all. T&D
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