Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand

It is with some considerable relief to learn that the Government has decided to roll over the temporary reduction in fuel excise and RUCs until January 2023. One look at the state of the economy and the rising cost of living clearly shows that the last thing kiwis could afford was a 25-cent jump in petrol prices and a 36 percent hike in RUC rates.

Since June Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand has been publicly advocating for an extension to the RUC and fuel excise reduction and I am pleased that the Government has listened and chosen not to impose this further cost pressure on families and businesses. Many kiwis are only just keeping their heads above water as it is. ...

Recent population data released by Statistics New Zealand should have made all employers in this country stand up and notice, including road transport operators. 

A couple of headline figures we should all be concerned about are that during the last year New Zealand’s working age population shrank by 0.2 percent, with a massive 3.1 percent reduction in the number of people in their 20s. The number of 20 to 39-year-olds was down 0.7 percent and those aged 25 to 29 dropped a whopping 4 percent.

All this was in the year up to March 2022, a year where the borders were mostly closed and there was heightened uncertainty around international travel. Now that borders have reo...

Livestock transport has always been a hard business. The work is stressful, the animal welfare responsibilities huge and the margins often very tight. Traditionally, livestock operators have also had the thin end of the wedge when it comes to the chain of responsibility – much of it falling on the poor old truckie.

Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand is seeking to change this situation and is working through our sector group, the National Livestock Transport & Safety Group, to spread the load across the whole supply chain and address some of the key challenges and risks faced by operators.

The proposal, which the industry has spent the last year-or-so formulating, is ...

There is absolutely no doubt that New Zealand is in for some tough economic times over the next year or so. High inflation and disruptions caused by the pandemic and war in Ukraine are contributing to significant pressures on businesses and households. 

Some may have missed it, but back in late March ASB Bank released forecasting that indicated that New Zealand households would see an on-average increase in weekly costs in the vicinity of $150. I must admit, I was staggered by that figure even though I understand the impact that higher interest rates and rising consumer prices are having. 

$150 is a lot of money for Kiwi families to find and for most, it is proba...

Cynically released on a Saturday morning and buried amongst blanket news coverage of Auckland’s Delta outbreak was the Government’s announcement that they had scrapped the bike bridge over the Waitemata Harbour as part of Auckland’s Northern Pathway Project.  

Despite already spending an almost unbelievable $51million on planning for the bridge, I guess it is good news that, at last, the Government has listened to public feedback and abandoned what was little more than a $800m vanity project. Remaining funding will instead be reallocated to other transport projects in the city that reduce emissions and traffic congestion. When it comes to Auckland’s transport woes, there is...