News | Roading New Zealand

A Year of Change for Roading By Chris Olsen 1/2/2009

Sitting back and looking at 2008 you cannot help but think that we have just been through one of the biggest set of changes ever experienced by the sector. There is no doubt in my mind that these changes will have a profound impact on New Zealand’s future transport outcomes and that there are more changes to come.

Using Infrastructure to Kick Start the Economy by Chris Olsen 11/1/2007

It makes sense

“The World economy is now entering a major downturn in the face of the most dangerous shock in financial markets since the 1930s” reported the IMF (International Monetary Fund) in its recent World Economic Outlook.

Over the past couple of months I've heard those in the financial markets many times saying “desperate times call for desperate measures”.

NZ after the Oil Shock by Chris Olsen 1/12/2008

According to the New York Times in March of this year the World has just been through the biggest oil price shock of all time. This occurred earlier this year when oil reached $103.76/barrel, the inflation adjusted price of oil during the shock of the mid 1970s. As we all know the cost of oil continued to rise above this level to about $142/barrel. Today, as I write this column, oil has returned to around $60/barrel.

So looking back 30 or so years how did New Zealand respond to the 1970s shock and is there anything we can learn from it?

To the RUC Review Group on proposals to review Road User Charges

Broadly, our submission dealt with possible changes from using the 4th Power Rule for damage to the road pavement to using the 2nd Power Rule; use of average vehicle weights; “space” related expenditure; replacement of RUC with a diesel tax; a possible strategy for moving to electronic cost recovery; and the need for road users to be consulted on proposed changes to levels of RUC. Read the full submission here.

to ERMA

concerning the amendment to 4 Group Standards enabling bitumen to be carried in tank wagons not limited to 10,000 litres. We congratulated ERMA for amending the 4 Group Standards to enable bitumen emulsions to be carried in tank wagons not limited to 10,000 litres in compartment size provided they comply with an approved Code of Practice. Read the submission here.

NZ Transport Strategy and Contractors by Chris Olsen 2/10/2008

The Government released its Transport Strategy and Policy Statement on Transport in early August. The New Zealand Transport Strategy looks out to 2040 while the Government Policy Statement covers the next five years and indicates funding levels for a further five years.

So what do these documents hold for Contractors

To understand this we need to get a feel for how the Government intends to achieve the Strategy's target of a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions per capita by 2040. Page 51 of the Strategy document outlines this as follows

to New Zealand Transport Agency Rules Team

regarding the Draft Transport Rule: Omnibus Amendment 2008. We congratulated the NZTA on seeking to clarify current requirements and better aligning NZ requirements with overseas standards, as well as correcting minor errors and omissions. Read submission here.

Contract out rail maintenance work...

Roading New Zealand’s Chief Executive, Chris Olsen is calling on ONTRACK to contract out its rail maintenance work, He says it's clear from the Auditor General’s Report released today that ONTRACK is not managing the maintenance of it network adequately. more ( Link to full version at Media Releases [archive] )

Roading Budget Barely Meets Maintenance Costs

Roading New Zealand welcomes today's announcement by Land Transport New Zealand of $2.7 billion in funding for the 2008/09 National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) - an 11% increase on the previous year.

But Roading New Zealand chief executive Chris Olsen warns that the budget for maintenance of local roads and state highways is barely sufficient to preserve the existing condition of the country’s roading network.

Canterbury transport package welcome

Roading New Zealand welcomes today’s announcement of a $244 million transport package from central government to cover the Canterbury region's transport needs over the next ten years.

“Not only will this enable projects to be delivered in the next 10 years rather than the next 20 to 25 years” Roading New Zealand's Chief Executive, Chris Olsen said “it will be a shot in the arm for local contractors who have recently had to lay staff off”.