Meeting New Zealand's transport infrastructure needs to 2025
Our country is judged on the reliability of our infrastructure and it shapes our every day prosperity. NZCID is committed to the development of world class infrastructure for the benefit of all New Zealanders. Without world-class infrastructure in transport, water and energy we cannot ultimately maintain the standard of living to which New Zealanders aspire.
Meeting New Zealand's Transport Infrastructure Needs to 2025 is an NZCID & GHD initiative which: outlines a 20 year future vision for New Zealand's transport infrastructure needs, and identifies what needs to change in order for this vision to be most effectively delivered.
In the last six years strong economic growth and increasing affordability have enabled the Government to turn its attention to addressing New Zealand's transport infrastructure needs. This is welcome and positive progress which follows three decades of significant under investment in transport.
A feeling of uncertainty persists within industry and the community however. At issue is whether infrastructure will be sufficient to satisfy current and future transport demands and secure the nation's future economic, social, and environmental well being.
Worsening congestion, growing car dependency, increasing CO2 emissions, rising costs and slowing rates of road safety improvement are daily evidence of the pressures on New Zealand's transport infrastructure.
This report raises some fundamental questions. It considers whether the current funding, policy settings and legislative framework are constraining the country's ability to meet these requirements by 2025, and questions whether these factors are placing New Zealand's economic and social future at risk.
Clearly if New Zealand is to achieve the social, economic and environmental goals to which the Government aspires, fundamental issues must be resolved with urgency. We must develop a 20 year National Land Transport Development Strategy; develop a long term secure and sustainable funding base; improve the governance of the transport sector; and streamline the consenting process for approving Projects of National Importance.
More specifically, experts GHD recommend key issues are addressed by the following solutions:
| 1. | The Resource Management Act (RMA) can inhibit timely major infrastructure development | > | Introduce consolidate assessment provisions |
| 2. | Multiple consents/approvals are often required for major projects | > | Rationalise statutory approval processes |
| 3. | Lack of recognition in the RMA of strategic planning processes | > | Provide alignment between RMA, Regional Land Transport Strategies and growth strategies |
| 4. | The Land Transport Management Act (LTMA) inhibits and concession proposals from the private sector | > | Amend the LTMA for other modes, network approaches and a better balance of public/private risk sharing |
| 5. | Lack of funding | > | Reduce diversion to the Crown Account, make greater use of public debt and infrastructure bonds and encourage partnerships with the private sector through guidelines/frameworks |
| 6. | Lack of project and funding certainty | > | Develop and commit to a 10-year plan and an indicative for the 10-20 year period |
| 7. | Lack of raw materials | > | Assess raw material requirements for new transport infrastructure |
| 8. | Lack of planning across infrastructure types | > | Develop a national strategic plan across infrastructure |
| 9. | Lack of coordination and agreement between planning agencies | > | Amend the LTMA regarding membership ReLTCs. Streamline Transmit New Zealand's requirement to consult. Amend the Raid Network Bill to ensure coordination with ONTRACK and promote coordination region-to-region, ports, airports and major operators |
| 10. | Linkage of transport to GDP, increasing CO2 emissions, congestion and high costs of infrastructure | > | Develop integrated and multi-modal approaches to transport demand management including road pricing in major urban centers |
Backed by a substantive analysis undertaken by GHD, the findings of this report are constructive and topical and are expected to stimulate welcome public debate. Authors GHD & commissioning organisation NZCID hope the report will inform and influence central, regional and local government decision making, and contribute to NZCID's primary goal: the provision of world class transport infrastructure for the benefit of all New Zealanders.
further information
> NZCID, Transport 2025 Summary analysis (2006)
> GHD, Meeting New Zealand's transport infrastructure needs to 2025
