We need a locked-in 50-year roading infrastructure plan

By Justin Tighe-Umbers, CEO, National Road Carriers Association

IT’S GOOD TO HEAR NEW PRIME MINISTER CHRIS HIPKINS SAYING he is going to focus on the big issues business is facing. For the trucking industry, the biggest issue is the shocking state of our roads.

Every day, potholes and undriveable surfaces cause expensive damage and delays to our nation’s trucking fleet. Our road conditions are a disgrace for a wealthy, developed country like New Zealand. Ninety-three per cent of our goods are delivered by trucks – and our poor roading is making all these goods more expensive.

Our road network is getting worse each year as maintenance continues to fall behind. Despite all the money collected for roading, less than half of the maintenance needed is being carried out each year. So, the first call from NRC and the trucking industry to Prime Minister Hipkins is to prioritise fixing our roads by committing annual spend to cover all the road repairs needed.

By rights the Government should commit this spending because road users are contributing the tax money needed. Here are some figures that may make your blood boil.

1. RUC contributes roughly $2 billion a year to the National Land Transport Fund

2. Trucks make up 54% of that $2 billion which equals 13% of the total fund

3. Trucks make up 4% of the vehicle fleet so 4% of the fleet contributes 13% of the dollars

In total, road users contribute 55% of the fund, local government contributes 20% and the balance comes from the Crown. Nearly a third (31%) is not spent on roads, with only 39% is specifically allocated to maintaining or improving roads. We need to think of the road network as a capital asset that depreciates year by year as it is used – and repairs and maintenance need to be properly funded.

Roads are a political football. One political party may announce plans for new roads or funding for road maintenance but when the natural political cycle brings the other party into power they can easily pull the pin on those plans. We don’t play political football with electricity infrastructure – imagine the power cuts – so why is it OK with our roads?

Planning and building roads takes many decades – much longer than three-year political terms. That’s why we are calling for a 50-year roading infrastructure plan that is locked-in, out of political reach. This will give road contractors a pipeline of work, and the confidence to invest in tooling up, delivering more roading for the dollar over the long-term.

The current uncertain, stop-start system means a) new roads take longer to build because roading contractors can’t resource up with confidence b) we pay much more for roads than we should because of wasted Government planning effort and consultant reports when planned roads are canned, and because contractors have to build in a buffer to their costs c) we end up with a roading network that is well below par – nowhere near as effective or efficient as it could be.

The way we approach roading, as a country, is not smart – and to be honest, it’s embarrassing that Labour, National and the minor parties can’t recognise and agree that the road network is a significant national asset and efficient transport of goods is a critical factor in maintaining our standard of living.

I put the call for a 50-year roading infrastructure plan out as a news release when Chris Hipkins took over the reins and it was pleasing to get media pick-up with a morning interview on NewstalkZB with Tim Dower and evening drive time interview on Radio New Zealand with Lisa Owen. Later that week in the wake of the tragic northern floods I was invited back to talk with Lisa about how the 50-year plan would deliver the road network resilience sorely needed.

Perhaps Finance Minister Grant Robertson was listening in because in a recent media interview responding to a question about how long the fuel tax relief could be continued, he said, “We need a long-term view about what sustainable transport funding looks like.”

NRC is enlisting the support of our Transport and Logistics Advisory Group Chair Simon Bridges to lobby for a 50-year roading infrastructure plan for the benefit of the whole road transport industry. We’ll keep you posted on progress. T&D