Driving the economy
SLOWING DOWN THE WAKA The speed limit along most of State Highway 5 has been permanently lowered from 100km/h to 80km/h.
“ by Nick Leggett Chief Executive Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand
HOW DO WE MAKE THE WAKA GO faster?” was a phrase that used to be heard a lot when the relationship between Government and the economy was front-of-mind, with Government ministers and senior officials. Basically, it emphasised how Government through regulatory or policy means could help the business sector be more productive and therefore, help grow the economy to benefit more people. Unfortunately, ‘how do we make the waka go faster?’, has gone the way of the moa and is now totally extinct. In fact, the mere utterance of it from a senior public servant would probably elicit a stern ‘please explain’ from their political masters in the beehive. Private sector success and economic growth have not just fallen out of fashion in Wellington, they have become concepts so undesirable that they are actively used as a stick to beat the Government’s heartless opponents with. Road transport, probably more than any other sector, is exposed to even the smallest economic corrections and it is therefore critical that the Government understands the commercial consequences of its decisions. Ever y time businesses get whacked with higher compliance or labour costs it is like the Government
pressing on the economy’s brake pedal. Often, they get away with it because kiwi businesses are resilient and resourceful and find ways to do make do with less, however, there is a limit. The lowering of speed limits across large swathes of our roading network is a classic case where Government has sought a simple solution to a complex issue and has not considered the everyday impact it will have on businesses, communities and the economy. We are told that lowering speed limits will fix our appalling road toll despite the fact that New Zealand’s high accident rate actually has a lot to do with the poor state of our roads and road surfaces, and the poor decisions people make while driving on them. Anyone who has been on the road over the holiday period will be aware speed is an issue, but not the legal speed limit, rather it is the impatient few going well over the average traffic speed and forcing an unsafe passing manoeuvre on the wrong side of the road. Slowing all other traffic down is not going to stop this. Lowering regional speed limits is, however, an easy sell for Wellington bureaucrats who have little regard for people who don’t live in our major cities or any understanding of the time-sensitive nature of moving goods around the country. Truck & Driver | 41
