National Road Carriers
DEFERRAL THE CAUSE OF OUR WOES By James Smith, COO, of National Road Carriers Association
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RECENTLY ATTENDED A BREAKFAST WITH GRANT ROBERTSON hosted by our friends at the Auckland Chamber of Commerce. Regardless of your political leanings there is always some common ground to be found, and this occasion was no different. It would be fair to say that whilst the audience was a bit right of centre than a chat with the party faithful, there was more than the occasional nod of agreement. One such point that most of you will understand relates to the state of our roads. It may come as a surprise to learn that the Government agrees that the state of our roads is not where it needs to be and that there has been work undertaken to understand why this is. New Zealand is not alone in having road infrastructure that is failing to deliver. Look at any industry publication globally and the state of the roads is one of the key issues. In New Zealand, we stopped investing in infrastructure required for future growth at least 50 years ago, and at the time there were very good reasons for doing so. In the 1970’s there were the oil price shocks (1974 – 1977 and 1979 – 1982) that followed hard on the heels of a collapse in the wool price (1967 – 1969) and the loss of “Mother England” as our primary export market as they joined the European Union in 1973. In 1987 we had the share market crash that led to the short but sharp recession (1991 -1992) at the same time the transport industry was deregulated and we saw large-scale privatisation of Government departments. 1997 – 1999 saw another short sharp recession, this time caused by the “Asian Crisis” and drought. The last slowdown was the Global Financial Crisis (2008 – 2012) and then just as things looked like we were in for a period of sustained economic stability along came Covid 19 and we headed down the crisis route again.
James Smith
What has this history lesson got to do with the state of our roads? The answer lies in the tools used to manage each of these economic shocks. The tools always included deferral of large infrastructure projects with the notable exception of the “Think Big” projects initiated in the late 1970’s of which only electrification of the North Island Main Trunk could be deemed transport infrastructure. For the last fifty years New Zealand has failed to build the infrastructure required for future economic and population growth. The National Land Transport Fund pays for the maintenance of existing infrastructure however even that model is flawed as it plans future maintenance based on past activity so is always lagging behind growth and usage in real terms. One of the starkest examples of infrastructure failure as a result of deferral is the state of the KiwiRail Cook Strait Ferries. Decades of dithering regarding the possible relocation of the Southern port to Clifford Bay meant decisions on vessel replacement were continually deferred. Combine this with ownership changes and we are now facing, and the reality of worn out vessels with replacements still several years away. Anyone that runs a fleet of trucks knows that if you need to operate a reliable service you either need a reliable fleet requiring only routine servicing or you need a large fleet with enough units to cover those in the workshop for major maintenance. Finally, back to that breakfast meeting with Grant Robertson. What got heads nodding (wisely not due to fatigue) was his statement that New Zealand needs to return to the point where we are investing for its future needs. Grant is correct. I look forward to seeing that put into action. The NRC team is always available to assist anyone who chooses transport as their occupation. If there is anything you need assistance with, please call us on 0800 686 777. T&D Truck & Driver | 91
