One topic that frequently comes up when I’m visiting members is how hard it is to get HPMV permits in anything like a reasonable timeframe. At a time when transport operators are dealing with a major demand slow down, damaged roads, escalating fuel costs and customers pushing back hard on transport price hikes – permit delays are the last thing you need.
Operating an HPMV across several road controlling authority areas involves dealing with multiple jurisdictions. It only takes one to be under-resourced to blow out the timeframes. One of our members I spoke to needed a permit to run milk in two weeks, only to be told a permit will take 12 weeks. The milk of course won’t wait. This is unacceptable red tape strangling productivity, and is hurting our economy at a time when every dollar counts.
This is why NRC, NZ Trucking Association and Transporting New Zealand got together this month and sat down with the NZTA and Ministry of Transport to take a hard look at where the challenges are and what could be done to improve the process. Also attending were transport operators who made it very clear the damage these process delays are doing at the coal face.
It was a very productive workshop, NZTA and MOT brought the right people, listened and agreed a way forward. Some immediate fixes were agreed:
• attribute sheets are no longer required
• an increased number of combinations are now allowed on one permit
This is a great example of how having three associations at the table working together on behalf of the industry can be more effective than one. As well as bringing more expertise to the table, it sends a strong signal to government that the industry is in lock step on the importance of the issue.
Stay safe, and enjoy your weekend when you get there.
Justin Tighe-Umbers
CEO | National Road Carriers Assn
DDI: +64 9 636 2951 |
