Mixed reactions from industry and local bodies over government transport plan

There has been a mixed response to the government's plan for land transport over the next decade, which prioritises more than $20 billion of funding on 14 new roads and public transport links.

The Government Policy Statement sets out priorities for investment over 10 years, with a new one every three years. The one released today is a draft which consults on a proposed $70b spend out to 2034.

To help pay for it, it is proposing to increase the fuel excise and tax, and road user charges from mid-2024, which the government said would amount to paying an extra $1 a week, for the average motorist, each year.

The National Road Carriers Association, which represents supply chain companies in the country, said it was pleased to see a significant investment in the country's road.

Its GM for policy and advocacy James Smith said the "cold hard facts" were it would take "a decent amount" of money to improve our roads.

The association had been calling for a long-term commitment to road transport infrastructure for some time, he said.

"We continue to ask for road transport infrastructure to be removed from the three-year political cycle which has been shown to lead to a stop-start approach that benefits no one.

"A 50-year roading infrastructure plan is desperately needed to ensure New Zealanders have a safe, productive, and resilient networking that will be fit for purpose into the future," he said.

But Smith stressed that money alone would not deliver the outcomes the country needed.

"We also need to be smart about how we spend, where we spend it and what we get for it. Results matter if we are to get our roading infrastructure back up to scratch."

'The status quo is no longer tenable' - Local Government New Zealand

Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) echoed sentiments of a long-term commitment that was unaffected by the election cycle.

"It is doing future generations a disservice to continue making decisions in an ad hoc way without a strong long-term vision for the future that's got cross party support," president Sam Broughton said.

He urged central government that the Ministry of Transport and Waka Kotahi (NZ Transport Agency) needed to collaboratively design the future of transport infrastructure with local government.

"It's time the government recognised the critical need for a more strategic and resilient approach to transport planning and investment.

"That mean acing head on the fact that the current funding arrangements aren't fit for purpose and taking a local approach and being responsive to local needs."

LGNZ was also calling for an independent review of transport funding arrangements, targeted funding to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change for the transport network and making integrated transport networks a priority to connect towns and cities.

"The status quo is no longer tenable, and the challenges can no longer be ignored," he said.

Clear winners from the announcement, Wellington City Council and Greater Wellington Regional Council, praised the plan, especially the acceleration of long delayed transport solutions for the city.

Two of the 14 key strategic projects announced by the government were for Wellington.

One was the second Mt. Victoria tunnel, upgrades to the Basin Reserve and Arras Tunnel, and the other was to deliver mass rapid public transport between Wellington CBD and Island Bay.

The government also signalled it would take the lead on projects on the state highway network.

Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau said estimates showed that 50,000 to 80,000 more people would call Wellington home in the next 30 years.

"As civic leaders we need to champion transformational change to support our city's growing population against a backdrop of climate change.

"We know that internationally mass rapid public transport, especially light rail, has been a significant catalyst of housing and urban development and this presents an exciting opportunity for Wellington."

Greater Wellington chairperson Daran Ponter said it remained to be seen how the announcement from the government would speed up the big transformational projects now under its purview.

"But it's a good first step that will push the programme forward."

'Completely misses the mark' - Transporting New Zealand

But there were some who also came out swinging against the government's draft plan.

Road freight peak body Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand said it failed to adequately prioritise road network resilience.

Its interim chief executive Dom Kalasih said the draft plan would result in major tax hikes for road users, while failing to prepare the roading network for the future.

The proposed increases in road user charges alone would add thousands of dollars to the cost of operating a truck and trailer each year, that trucking companies would be forced to pass on to consumers, he said.

"At a time when New Zealanders are grappling with a cost of living crisis and a series of devastating weather events, the draft GPS completely misses the mark.

"The government needs to be prioritising the fundamentals: a well maintained state highway network with strong regional connections that can transport people and freight safely and reliably.

"Increasing road user charges for the trucking sector is not the pay forward."

Kalasih said the Ministry of Transport's latest study on road pricing showed that compared to all other road users, trucks were by far paying most of their share.

"It's time other road users starting paying more of their share of the costs and the same goes for rail freight."

He said it was also disappointing that the plan spoke about a project being underway to look at the future of revenue in the transport system.

"Funding is the absolute key and we really hoped we'd see much more advanced thinking in this regard."

Kalasih was calling for the government to reconsider its current approach.

Greenpeace called the "wishlist" a "missed opportunity for real climate action".

Its spokesperson Christine Rose said the government's plan was a long list of policies, but ultimately failed to address the climate crisis.

"The government must cut climate pollution by shifting the country's transport system away from new roads and private cars, towards public transport, walking, and cycling.

"All political parties must prioritise transformative action on the climate crisis, and this plan does not do that."

While it was good to see some public transport development included, ultimately Greenpeace expected to see much more from Labour in the lead-up to the 2023 election, said Rose.

'Going to affect those on lower incomes more'

A budget advisor said funding Labour's draft transport policy with a fuel tax would force people on the breadline to drive less.

Auckland Central Budgeting general manager Tim Maurice said some people will not be able to afford the petrol tax rise totalling 12 cents over the next three years.

"It's going to affect those on lower incomes more, especially people who are on benefits or pensions where their income is fixed, prices go up you've got to cut something else out and there's not a lot that you can.

"It is tough and it's going to get tougher."

Maurice said there is already a two-week wait to see a financial mentor at the Auckland Central Budgeting service.

"For our clients, any increases in expenses they're either going to have to increase their income somewhere or decrease their expenses somewhere, like drive the car less."

Meanwhile, a transport planner said the proposed fuel tax is too low to fund Labour's draft transport policy.

Auckland University senior lecturer Timothy Welch said the 12-cent rise over three years is not enough to fund the plans.

"It seems painful at the moment because petrol prices are already pretty high but if we look back the last time the petrol fuel tax was raised, in 2020, since then inflation has brought down the purchasing power of that tax by over 15 percent."

Welch said the proposed petrol tax increase would only cover inflation.

"It should be up to about 30 cents more so we should be pushing about $1 per litre in just petrol tax. We're still aways behind what we need just to fund the maintenance and planned expansion of our roads."