Speech - Local Government Transport Forum
Good morning, and thanks for inviting me to kick off this Local Government Transport Forum.
First, congratulations to those recently elected or re-elected to local government, particularly here in the Auckland Supercity.
I'd also like to congratulate those recently appointed to the board of Auckland Transport which will replace the nine separate transport agencies that currently exist across the city.
This new agency will help to deliver a transport network that supports Auckland's growth and economic success, which is very important to all New Zealanders.
Today I've been asked to outline the Government's long term direction for transport in New Zealand, and I'd like to outline some of our major priorities and progress.
Our priority for Transport
We've made it clear the Government's top priority for the transport network is to maximise its contribution to economic growth and productivity.
For an exporting nation like New Zealand, how we move people and goods to markets is crucial. We rely on roads, rail, sea and air travel to make a living in the world.
To be a competitive economy we have to make our transport network as safe and efficient as possible.
Roads of National Significance (RoNS)
In particular, we see the road network as the core of the transport sector and a top priority.
A lack of investment over the last 20-25 years has created deficits in our infrastructure that are clogging some of our vital economic arteries.
We need to unclog these arteries, and quickly.
We are putting our money where our mouth is and investing $11 billion in our roading network over the next 10 years.
Last year the Minister of Transport Steven Joyce identified seven Roads of National Significance (RoNS) which are top priorities.
These roads are centred around our five largest centres, and are of national strategic importance for the economy.
All of these roads need work to reduce congestion, improve safety and support economic growth.
The NZ Transport Agency will be making major progress on these roads over the next 10 years.
The seven projects in the programme will retrofit and run separate carriageways through the busiest sections of rural highway and urban congestion points. All seven projects are progressing well.
Work to ease the bottleneck round Victoria Park here in Auckland is under way, and the Waterview project to complete the Auckland Western Ring Route is out to tender with construction due to start next year.
Later this year, we'll start consulting on options for routing the Puhoi to Wellsford upgrade of State Highway 1.
Also on State Highway 1, I'm glad to report that excellent progress has been made on the Waikato Expressway. Tenders for constructing the Rangiriri and Te Rapa sections have been awarded. Work on Te Rapa starts this year and Rangiriri next year.
The Ngaruawahia bypass work will also kick off next year, with the Cambridge bypass following in 2012. The Huntly and Hamilton bypasses are in the design phase and work will start on building them in or around 2014.
On State Highway 2, we've confirmed that tolling will be introduced on the Tauranga Eastern Corridor. This will enable construction to start next year, seven years earlier than would have been the case otherwise.
This shows the real value that ‘user pays' can have in advancing major infrastructure projects that benefit all road users.
A major focus at present is developing the corridor from Levin to Wellington Airport, which includes Transmission Gully, providing an alternative route in and out of our capital city.
Design and consultation work is underway so that land can be designated and readied for work.
As the local MP for Otaki I can tell you this is great news for the region and has been long-awaited.
Down south, stage one of the Christchurch motorway project is under construction, with consultation and design under way for the other sections.
Progress on rail improvements
Upgrading our Rail network so it can carry more passengers and freight is also a big priority.
We know that freight volumes carried in New Zealand will double by 2040. To meet this challenge, rail will have to play a big part.
In this year's Budget the government committed $250 million to the KiwiRail "Turnaround Plan". This is designed to make the rail freight business sustainable within a decade, so that it can stand on its own two feet.
In principle, we've committed $750 million over the next three years to KiwiRail. Final decisions will depend on business cases and meeting performance targets.
There is large investment going into commuter rail as well, with $1.6 billion for a major upgrade and electrification of Auckland's network.
This work will go a long way towards helping ease Auckland's rush-hour congestion. It will generate jobs, provide more frequent trains at peak times, and make big strides in meeting future passenger demand.
It all helps make Auckland the highly progressive and livable city we need it to be as our largest urban centre.
We've also seen good progress in Wellington's metro rail upgrade, with the first new Matangi train being delivered and trialled last month. They are expected to begin operating in December, providing a more comfortable and reliable journey for commuters.
The Government has put $258 million towards new trains and the supporting rail network in the Wellington region and $125 million for other renewals and upgrades. As part of this work the Paraparaumu line is being double-tracked and electrified all the way north to Waikanae.
Almost thirty thousand commuters pass through the Wellington railway station each weekday, and I'm sure they will welcome these improvements after what has been a tough few years.
So good progress is being made and the Government will continue to work in partnership with Auckland and Wellington councils on what comes next. The Government is prepared to contribute its fair share to the continuing goal of improving transport.
However the councils will need to work out how much their ratepayers are prepared to contribute to accelerating any new projects.
National Infrastructure
We are also committed to improving cooperation between central and local government over how we purchase and manage infrastructure.
Finance Minister Bill English is driving this programme, and he recently met with local government representatives, including President Lawrence Yule, to work on better strategic alignment.
Both sides agreed that New Zealand could be smarter in its approach to investment and how the various parts of government decide which projects should proceed. Work is underway to improve how we plan for the future and make decisions.
It is estimated the Government has a physical asset base of around $110 billion, while local government holds about $84 billion. It's important we make the most of this.
This is why we're also keen to streamline the Land Transport Management Act. We're focusing on simplifying and increasing the effectiveness of planning, funding and accountability under the Act.
You'll have the chance to make a submission on the proposed amendments when the Bill goes into its select committee stage early next year, and I encourage you to do so.
Resource Management Act phase II
Related to this is the public consultation being held on phase two of the Resource Management Act reforms. It touches on many areas of resource management, including infrastructure and urban development, and my Ministerial colleagues and officials at the Ministry of Transport have been working hard on it.
Environment Minister Nick Smith launched the public consultation document last week. I urge you to read it and have your say on what are likely to be significant reforms to New Zealand's resource management legislation that will have implications for transport planning in your jurisdictions.
Government policy statement on land transport funding
It's also worth outlining the Government's policy statement on land transport funding. The current statement ensures that investment in land transport reflects the Government priorities of economic growth and productivity.
It makes sure that investment reflects the travel options realistically available to New Zealanders, and that funding is committed where it's needed most.
Officials are now in the early stages of developing the next statement, due to come into effect in July 2012.
We're working on some minor changes to the statement to support the Safer Journeys strategy, which I hope you are well aware of.
As well as supporting economic growth, the major roading projects I've outlined are a vital step in improving safety on our roads.
While we have made improvements in the past and our road toll has dropped significantly in the last thirty years, this progress has stalled in recent years.
Perhaps more significantly, our road toll compares unfavourably with other countries we like to compare ourselves with.
Last year 384 New Zealanders died on our roads. If we had the same rate as in Australia, that number would be 298.
If we had the same rate as the UK it would be just 186.
Better roads are only one part of the solution. We need a system-wide approach to looking at the safety, not only of our roads, but also of our road users, vehicles and speed limits.
This is why the Safer Journeys package is so important. So many of the accidents on our roads can be prevented.
Safer Journeys draws on the experiences of other countries that have, so far, been more successful than we have in tackling the road toll.
Last month the Land Transport (Road Safety and Other Matters) Amendment Bill was introduced to Parliament. This includes many of the action points from Safer Journeys aimed at improving the safety of young drivers and reducing the impact of alcohol on road safety.
I'm sure you're well aware at a local level of how important it is to tackle these issues.
The Bill proposes raising the driving age from 15 to 16 and allowing the New Zealand Transport Agency to strengthen the restricted licence test.
Both these measures will help protect our youngest and most vulnerable drivers, and make sure they're competent, experienced and capable of driving safely when they take to the road for the first time.
The Bill also proposes a range of measures to deal with drink-driving which, along with drugged driving, is a factor in a third of fatal road crashes in this country. That's a statistic we can't afford to ignore.
The Bill lowers the drink drive limit for young drivers under 20 to zero from the current level of 0.03. We know this level of intoxication makes young drivers fifteen times more likely to have a fatal crash than a sober driver aged over 30. That's not acceptable.
Also unacceptable is the number of repeat drink drive offenders. The Bill proposes that they be bound to a zero drink drive limit for three years after getting their licence back. This may be enforced with alcohol interlocks that will stop the car from starting.
There will also be tougher penalties for drunk drivers causing fatal accidents.
In terms of the adult drink driving level, the bill will allow police to take alcohol readings from all drivers involved in crashes causing death or serious injury who have a blood alcohol concentration of between 0.05 and 0.08.
This new research will help us to decide whether the acceptable blood alcohol levels for safe driving need to be changed.
Next in the queue for Safer Journeys are the proposed changes to the give-way rule and actions to make motorcyclists safer announced late last month. We expect these changes to be in place in early 2012.
Vehicle Dimensions and Mass Rule
Work is also underway on improving the efficiency of how we move freight on our roads.
Earlier this year the Vehicle Dimensions and Mass Rule was amended to allow vehicles up to 53 tonnes to operate on specified routes. Previously, the maximum was 44 tonnes.
Over 300 applications have been made so far and the NZTA is busy issuing permits.
Road user charges
In July this year we announced plans to simplify and modernise the road user charges system, which I'm sure you'll welcome as they aim to reduce compliance costs and simplify administration processes.
We also intend tackling road user charge evasion which is estimated at around $30 million a year. Honest payers are subsidising those who are ripping off the system. Our proposed changes will remove opportunities for evasion and encourage payment.
Public Transport
In addition to the work on rail, which I've already outlined, there is plenty happening around public transport.
The Public Transport Management Act is another piece of legislation now being amended to rebalance the powers of regional councils and public transport operators.
Working on this legislation it soon became clear that a wider review of the public transport sector was needed.
We're not proposing a major rewrite of the law, but we've asked officials to look in detail at how bus and ferry public transport is planned, procured and delivered.
This has included looking at how the sector can respond to the challenges of a tight financial environment by taking up new opportunities, such as integrated ticketing.
Ultimately central government, operators and regional councils all need to work together to find the right combination of legislation and procurement model that works for everyone.
All parties need to step up and use their skills most effectively. Taking the right commercial approach to delivering public transport services can increase its use, leading to better value for money and less reliance on public subsidies.
However, amending legislation is only one way to make improvements happen. Work on an acceptable operating model for public transport is continuing, and I know many of you are involved in that. I'm very appreciative and supportive of your efforts.
SuperGold card
On that note, the Government is committing an extra $9 million towards the SuperGold card. We've committed to maintaining the same level of services while getting better value for money for taxpayers.
We've set transport operator subsidies at a level that better reflects the benefits that flow to operators from the growing number of seniors using free off-peak public transport.
We believe these changes strike the right balance and will help ensure the long-term sustainability of the scheme in the years to come.
Conclusion
I hope I've given you a good overview of the Government's plans for the transport sector. As you can tell, we have a very ambitious and busy programme of work.
Our vision extends over the next decade. Our aim is that in ten years' time, New Zealanders will travel on safer, less congested highways throughout the country, and road freight will travel on better quality roads with greater capacity.
More people will be using public transport, and rail freight will be a sustainable, self-funding alternative.
We want the transport sector to be supporting economic growth for New Zealand by better connecting our major centres and reducing transport costs for our producers.
And we want to make real progress on tackling our road toll.
Central government recognises and appreciates the important role local government plays in this vision, and in planning and funding New Zealand's land transport infrastructure.
We share these responsibilities and their many challenges, and I look forward to working on them with you.
Thank you.