Justin’s Transport Minute – 16/06/2023
This week there have been a number of roading achievements worth celebrating. All state highways in Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti are now open following completion of the Hikuwai Bailey bridge restoring access for residents in Tokomaru Bay, Waipiro Bay, Te Puia Springs and communities all along SH35 to Gisborne. This work is on the back of the re-opening of the Waikare Gorge Bailey bridge on State Highway 2 last month, reconnecting Wairoa and Napier.
Justin’s Transport Minute – 02/06/2023
This week Treasury has warned that both FED and RUC will need to be increased in order to manage pressures on the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF), and the need to service the $2 billion Waka Kotahi loan.
On Wednesday, I spoke to Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB about what this means. In a nutshell, I said New Zealand needs to recognise the contribution a functioning road network makes to our economy, and the road funding model needs to reflect this.
Justin’s Transport Minute – 18/05/2023
While this year’s Budget addresses the urgent need to respond to the devastation caused by the recent weather events it does not address the long-term funding deficit caused by decades of under-investment in New Zealand’s roading network.
As a country we don’t have the luxury of focusing on the nice to haves. If the recent cyclone and flooding has shown us one thing it’s how we urgently need to get the basics right. In terms of roading we need to focus on the three R’s – Resilience, Rebuild and Restorative maintenance.
Justin’s Transport Minute – 12/05/2023
Yet again it’s been another week where mother nature has flexed her power with torrential rain causing havoc across Northland, Auckland, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty. A tornado hit Taranaki and the rain continued to march South ensuring Nelson, Tasman, Marlborough and the West Coast were all left sodden. I continue to be amazed at how well transport operates weather these relentless challenges – but it takes its toll.
Justin’s Transport Minute – 05/05/2023
This week kicked off with our submission on the much needed second Waitematā Harbour Crossing, which promises to be the largest single infrastructure project in the country. This is much more than just another expensive Auckland project, fixing the current State Highway 1 arterial constraint will deliver transport benefits from Northland to the lower-North Island and beyond.
Justin’s Transport Minute – 28/04/2023
It’s been a busy week on the political front with some positive announcements for the transport sector.
First up, Wednesday’s announcement from the Minister of Immigration and Transport Hon Michael Wood that the transport sector will be eligible for work to residence visas from 29 September 2023 is being universally welcomed across the industry. This change is a direct result of ongoing conversations by NRC, Bus & Coach, Waste Associations and NZ Shipping Federation with the Minister to highlight the urgent immigration changes needed to enable the sector to attract and keep much needed workers.
Justin’s Transport Minute – 21/04/2023
This week we’re seeing some significant signs that the economic slowdown is definitely hitting home. Two major construction companies, Scarbro Construction and AH Construction have sadly gone into receivership, joining 183 other construction companies hitting the wall since August.
Justin’s Transport Minute – 14/04/2023
Yet another week where potholes and road cones were the talk of the town.
Justin’s Transport Minute – 06/04/2023
As most of the country heads into Easter looking forward to a break, I know many members will continue doing the hard yards to make sure Kiwi homes are well stocked with hot cross buns and chocolate bunnies. Many of you may not get much of a break but I do hope you at least get a bit of downtime to relax and regroup before tackling into the busy winter months ahead.
Justin’s Transport Minute – 31/03/2023
It’s been a big week in terms of road re-opening announcements following Cyclone Gabrielle. SH5 Napier to Taupō is now open 24/7 after a mammoth effort by road crews to make the road safe for night-time travel. Hot on the heels of this announcement is the welcome news that SH1 Brynderwyn Hills re-opened in both directions at 9am today, for the first time since Cyclone Gabrielle struck last month. A major relief for transport operators who have been forced to take lengthy diversions via Dargaville. Knowing this critical piece of roading infrastructure has re-opened gives Northland operators a much-needed morale boost.
Justin’s Transport Minute – 24/03/2023
This week saw us have a great working session with WorkSafe who told us that
in their view the commercial transport industry has not been doing a great job
of telling a cohesive story about how important we are to the fabric of the
country – and how the major challenges faced by the industry are placing the
economy’s supply chain capacity at risk.
Justin’s Transport Minute – 17/03/2023
They say a week is a long time in politics. This week’s “bonfire of the priorities”, as the latest jettisoning of unachievable policy goals has been called, shows the truth of this age-old adage.
Common sense has prevailed, even if its hand was forced by mother nature.
Justin’s Transport Minute – 10/03/2023
Late last month the NRC Transport & Logistics Advisory Group had its
first meeting of 2023 and top of the agenda was industry response to the
devastation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle. Having Simon Bridges chairing the
Advisory Group gave us a head start, with his insights as the former Minister
of Transport bringing a unique perspective on how to get government to set the
rebuilding and resilience of our critical highways as the number one priority.
Justin’s Transport Minute – 03/03/2023
This week got off to a flying start with our announcement that NRC has formalised our working relationship with NZ Trucking Association (NTA). We’ve been working together since 1988 and have delivered some great collaborations for members including the Trucking Industry Summit, Trucking Industry Show and HARMfree Transport.
Justin’s Transport Minute – 24/02/2023
Nearly two weeks on following cyclone Gabrielle, the adrenaline of the event
is wearing off and reality is starting to set in.
For those in the trucking industry, that reality is ranging from “I’ve just
lost my entire yard, 30 vehicles and life’s work” through to dealing with major
detours on delivery runs.
Justin’s Transport Minute – 17/02/2023
Around the country we are all catching up with the enormity of what we are seeing unfold in Hawke’s Bay and East Cape, on top of the already extensively damaged Northland, Auckland and Coromandel regions. Watching the news last night was a heart-breaking affair, seeing how the lives of our fellow kiwis have been upended.
Justin’s Transport Minute – 10/02/2023
With all too frequent regularity a large part of New Zealand’s trucking
community finds itself preparing for yet another spell of road closures and
disruption.
Justin’s Transport Minute – 03/02/2023
RUC should be left for building roads, not political capital
Confusion reigned this week for RUC purchasers, when a few short hours after the discount was removed at midnight on January 31, the new Prime Minister announced it would be re-introduced until June 30.
Justin’s Transport Minute – 27/01/2023
Happy New Year, and for those members in the Auckland region – happy anniversary weekend!
After a well earned break the team at the NRC offices have been off to a busy start signing up new members, taking lots of support calls for existing members, and even shifting furniture round the office just to mix it up.
Justin’s Transport Minute – 16/12/2022
Sitting down to write Justin’s Transport Minute today it’s hard to believe it is the last one for the year already. And if you think you missed last week’s, you didn’t. Unfortunately I brought back an unwelcome present with me from my last trip to Wellington for the year – Covid