A lowering of COVID-19 alert levels has allowed the
Canterbury Mayoral Forum and Regional Transport Committee to
undertake its planned a two-day freight tour of Canterbury
today and tomorrow.
The Forum and Committee will visit
Christchurch International Airport, Lyttelton Port, Move
Logistics, and PrimePort Timaru on 18 and 19 February 2021.
While in Timaru, the group will use Timaru’s new on-demand
public transport system, MyWay. Health and safety measures
appropriate to the alert level have been put in place at
each stop.
The intention of the tour is to gain a
better understanding of the freight task within Canterbury
to progress the transport objectives sought by the Mayoral
Forum’s Plan for Canterbury, to inform the work programme
of the Regional Transport Committee, and build relationships
with key players in the freight industry.
The Mayoral
Forum’s Plan for Canterbury and the draft Regional Land
Transport Plan identify better freight options as a priority
for the region, with both plans expressing a strong desire
to shift freight movements off the road and onto rail and
coastal shipping.
Mayor Sam Broughton, Chair of the
Mayoral Forum, said that “with many of Canterbury’s
mayors also on the Regional Transport Committee, we
recognised the value of undertaking this tour
together.
Both groups have a significant interest in
freight transport, and improving transport outcomes for
Canterbury and its communities”, Mayor Broughton
said.
Environment Canterbury Councillor Peter Scott,
Chair of the Regional Transport Committee, agreed, noting
that “with the Committee proposing targets for freight
movement in the draft Regional Land Transport Plan, visiting
these facilities first-hand gives us some good insights into
the freight network needs of the future”.
The Forum
and Committee are pleased to be hosting Stuart Smith, MP for
Kaikōura, Hon Jacqui Dean, MP for Waitaki, and Jo Luxton,
MP for Rangitata, on parts of the tour. Canterbury MPs were
invited on the tour by Mayor Sam Broughton following a
meeting with Canterbury-based parliamentarians in November
last year.
While in Timaru, the Mayoral Forum is
taking the opportunity to hold its first quarterly meeting
of 2021 at the Timaru District Council on Friday morning.
The Forum last met in Timaru in 2017.
Mayor Sam
Broughton noted that the tour “is a fantastic chance for
members of both groups to see first hand Canterbury’s air,
sea, rail and road freight network in operation. Ending the
tour in Timaru is also an excellent chance for the Mayoral
Forum to hold its first meeting for 2021 tomorrow in
stunning South Canterbury”.
Items on the agenda for
discussion at Friday’s Mayoral Forum include many of the
big issues facing local government at present, such as
upcoming resource management reform, climate change, the
Three Waters review, the Water Services Bill, and the
Essential Freshwater reform
programme.
