The Government is right to examine New Zealand’s
tenuous supply chain, but it should not seek to intervene in
it beyond being a regulator and infrastructure provider,
says the peak body of the road transport industry, Ia Ara
Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand.
The Ministry of
Transport has recently consulted on New Zealand’s freight
and supply chain issues, with Transporting New Zealand
providing detailed feedback on behalf of the trucking
industry.
“There’s a real risk that Government will
try and fiddle with the supply chain, which is essentially
an instrument of the market,” says Transporting New Zealand
Chief Executive Nick Leggett. “The Government must use light
touch regulation and should instead focus on investment in
big infrastructure to facilitate better transport
links.”
Transporting New Zealand supports the
Government’s approach to taking a longer-term view of the
supply chain, particularly with regard to decarbonisation of
the transport sector.
“Better, safer roads allow more
efficient driving, faster travel times and they reduce
congestion. These factors all assist in reducing emissions
and are why we are calling on the Government to commit to
new roading projects urgently.”
93 percent of freight
is transported on the road, so more investment in roading
maintenance is vital.
“The road transport industry
would also not be opposed to investment in such projects as
a dry dock that would reduce the time our ships have to be
away in Australia for maintenance. We also support
co-operation around an offshore freight shipping hub to
handle major freight coming into the country, which would
pave the way for the greater use of coastal shipping,
therefore reducing some reliance on linehaul road
transport.”
“Such a hub would also reduce our reliance
on international shipping lines who may choose not to call
in New Zealand,” says Leggett. “As the report reveals, we
are only four percent of the global shipping market and are
at the end of the chain. That represents real risk to New
Zealand and is where the Government should be concentrating
its
efforts.”
