Ministry of Transport (New Zealand) - Te Manatū Waka’s Post

⛔️ | NEW BLOG: Investing in new roads won't help the government meet their missions. In this new blog, Maya Singer Hobbs makes the case to instead focus on renewing existing roads, boosting public transport and supporting active travel for a greener future. https://lnkd.in/eCv2QtMb

Western Trade Coast Infrastructure Strategy 🚢 The WA State Government today released the Western Trade Coast Infrastructure Strategy. The strategy encourages a masterplan and includes comprehensive feasibility studies to assess the viability of the projects considering factors such as interconnectedness, environmental impact and cost as one of the 12 next steps. The CME welcomes this action, having called for it in our submission to the Mandogalup - Improvement Scheme No. 1.

"Active travel schemes have an average BCR of 5.62, with considerably lower capital costs than roadbuilding schemes" A timely piece from IPPR after The Scottish Government cuts active travel spend whilst pursuing multi-billion A9 dualling scheme (BCR 1.12). *And* that 1.12 BCR was only reached after Transport Scotland inflated it from an unjustifiable 0.89 by creating a new metric for "removing driver frustration" — a metric never used before or since in transport appraisals. Read more in our Roads to Ruin report 👇 https://lnkd.in/esTZtgvm.

https://lnkd.in/exkUCf-i I'm delighted to share that the revised NNNPS was laid in Parliament today as part of the Budget announcement. This is the product of an immense amount of hard work from my team, with lots of helpful input from our stakeholders, the Transport Select Committee, and colleagues across Government. It will now be subject to Parliamentary debate before final designation. For those who don't know, the NNNPS provides the planning policy framework for consenting “nationally significant” road, rail and strategic rail freight applications. This new up to date framework should make the development consent process smoother and reduce uncertainties for those involved, reducing the scope for omissions or unnecessary work and the delays that this might bring. 

Only a week left until the end of voting period! Support the article on State aid for rail transport written by our directors Elżbieta Głowicka and Anselm Mattes by giving your vote in the Antitrust Writing Awards  ➡ https://lnkd.in/duRevWxg This article summarizes the study "Impact assessment support study for the review of the Community guidelines on State aid for railway undertakings" which a consortium led by E.CA Economics prepared for the European Commission, DG Competition. We provide insights into the role of State aid for a modal shift from road to rail and actionable options for the revision of the Railway Guidelines, taking into account the interlinkages between rail infrastructure, investment into rolling stock and rail freight operations. Full summary of the study is available here: https://lnkd.in/dTCWXK84 Concurrences #AntitrustWritingAwards #StateAid #Railways #EuropeanCommission

A key goal at ACE is to prepare our members for what's to come and we've had a close look at the Government's new three-month action plan that sets out what it aims to achieve by the end of June. We know we need to do things differently if we are to rise to the challenge of tackling our infrastructure deficit, to be more efficient and productive as a sector, and to ensure a healthy future for all New Zealanders. The Government’s plan is ambitious and we know that engineering and professional services consultants will have a connection to many of the 36 points on the list. An important one for our sector is the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport, which identifies the priorities for investment over the next ten years. There's a lot in there that we support, however, there are policies that we believe need to be improved, strengthened or revised. You can read our full submission to the Ministry of Transport here: https://lnkd.in/gj8ZAgSm

One way to improve productivity of manufacturers in NZ is to lower their commercial rates costs.  Rental property investors do not pay commercial rates.  Asking all rental property owners to pay commercial rates could lead to lower rates for all other rates payers.

The Labour Party Manifesto was released this week and included the following pledges that RIA L&S members may be interested in: • A ten-year strategy for infrastructure, aligned with industrial strategy and regional development priorities. The strategy will guide investment plans and give the private sector certainty about the project pipeline. • Create a new National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority, bringing together existing bodies, to set strategic infrastructure priorities and oversee the design, scope, and delivery of projects. • Set out new national policy statements, make major projects faster and cheaper by slashing red tape, and build support for developments by ensuring communities directly benefit. • Reforming the railways and bringing them into public ownership. They will do this as contracts with existing operators expire or are broken through a failure to deliver, without costing taxpayers a penny in compensation. • Great British Railways will “deliver a unified system that focuses on reliable, affordable, high-quality, and efficient services; along with ensuring safety and accessibility”. • Mayors will have a role in designing the services in their areas. • There will be a duty to promote and grow the use of rail freight. • Labour will also create a tough new passenger watchdog, focused on driving up standards. What do you think of these pledges? How do you think they compare to the approach from other parties? Let us know your thoughts below👇 #RIAMember

The Fast-track Approvals Bill has been trimmed of some of its more contentious elements as a result of the select committee process, although not enough to win over Labour, the Greens and Te Pati Māori – each of which has delivered a dissenting view. Whether the modifications will ensure the regime’s survival under a change of government will depend on how it performs in practice and in the court of public opinion – whether it is able to deliver infrastructure and development projects efficiently, without political taint and within acceptable environmental limits. We note that the Government is expecting a high volume of applications to be processed (between 50 and 100, with a median of 80) in each of the first three years, with levy costs in the range of $124,000 to $214,500 per application, including the referral and substantive consideration phases. We summarise the key recommendations as they appear in the committee’s report.

The publication of the long awaited revised national planning document was yesterday. Whilst only time will tell how it is interpreted and applied the diplomatic wording of various parts in seeking to encourage councils to produce a local plan within a matter of weeks or otherwise the flexibility to allow major developments outside of it in some sections exist and in others it is taken away. If clarity was being sought one thing is clear it’s not as evident as perhaps politicians and media commentators have previously said. The publication after today whether within weeks as suggested for some new towns in earlier guidance or by July 2025 of those places where developments will need to be fastracked to meet government targets will also need to come with appropriate new measures to secure timely decisions. Perhaps the forthcoming Bill in the new year will do that. Meanwhile opportunities exist to present housing to meet needs on brownfield sites and elsewhere with the more flexible approach to development in the green belt. Either way as this provides opportunities how councils will respond may be dictated by the proverbial carrot and stick! Certainly the emphasis in the new NPPF of determining applications within statutory timetables is likely to lead to more refusals unless the Government make it clearer of that stick may look like. Watch this space!