Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand

It’s fair to say, I am deeply disappointed and somewhat bemused by the failed rollout of roadside saliva-based drug testing. 

Passed into law through the Drug Driving Amendment Act, which Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand strongly supported, roadside saliva-based oral drug testing was due to begin on March 11. It was determined at the last minute, however, that the tests currently on the market are not suitable for New Zealand because, rather than indicate the level of impairment, they simply test for the presence of drugs in a driver’s system.

The decision to suspend roadside drug testing is not only a missed opportunity to enhance road safety an...

In normal circumstances I would never give up a chunk of my column to quote verbatim the words of a politician. However, new Prime Minister Hipkins’ opening Statement to Parliament in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle is potentially so consequential for the road transport industry and the future of roading in New Zealand, that I have chosen to make an exception. Hipkins told Parliament:

We know that how we recover has to be done a little bit differently this time. We’ve got to build back better, we’ve got to build back safer, and we’ve got to build back smarter. New Zealand is now without question experiencing the effects of climate change, and we are well past the poi...

Transporting New Zealand welcomes the Government’s decision to extend the Transport Support Package, including reinstatement of the 36% RUC discount. 

The Transport Support Package has been absolutely critical to help reduce costs for road transport operators and keep rising consumer prices in check, which is why Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand ran a campaign over summer to have it extended. 

The Treasury estimated that the combined impacts of the Transport Support Package reduced headline inflation by 0.5% in the June 2022 quarter so the impact of the policy right across the economy is pretty significant. 

Middle- and lower-inco...

Back in February, Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand released a report on behalf of the road transport industry that effectively buried the myth that rail can be a serious competitor to road transport across New Zealand’s freight network.

The report, Road and rail – delivering for New Zealand, which includes contributions from economists David Greig and Dave Heatley, is not intended to be a self-serving anti-rail hit-job, rather it is a rational evidence-based look at the true value of rail freight to New Zealand. 

Transporting New Zealand fully supports investment in rail where it makes sense and it must be acknowledged that the road freight transport industry ...

“How do we make the waka go faster?” was a phrase that used to be heard a lot when the relationship between Government and the economy was front-of-mind, with Government ministers and senior officials.

Basically, it emphasised how Government through regulatory or policy means could help the business sector be more productive and therefore, help grow the economy to benefit more people.

Unfortunately, ‘how do we make the waka go faster?’, has gone the way of the moa and is now totally extinct. In fact, the mere utterance of it from a senior public servant would probably elicit a stern ‘please explain’ from their political masters in the beehive.

Private sector success ...