Business: Roads plan a good start

By DANIEL RIORDAN transport writer

Auckland business leaders have given qualified approval to the Government's $227 million land transport plan.

They see it as a realistic attempt to fight the city's traffic congestion problems, but say more will need to be done.

The plan will be paid for through an immediate 4.2c a litre increase in petrol tax of and in increases from April 1 in road user charges on diesel vehicles of four tonnes or less.

Transport Minister Mark Gosche said most affected diesel users would pay on average an extra $6.28 for every 1000 kilometres.

The money will be spent over the next 16 months, and includes an extra $94 million for roadworks, especially on badly congested roads, $30 million for alternatives to roading (such as rail) and an extra $36 million for public transport.

Geoff Vazey, deputy head of the Auckland Business Forum and Ports of Auckland chief executive, welcomed the plan.

He said it was particularly pleasing to see the Government taking reduced congestion into account in its roads spending decisions.

Road congestion in Auckland cost the country about $1 billion a year, and road users also faced the price of tackling that problem.

"It's a good start, but there are big projects in Auckland that are going to need more money in the future," he said.



But Business Roundtable executive director Roger Kerr said the Government's package was "riddled with unjustifiable elements reflecting unsatisfactory political compromises."

Although it was a welcome if overdue attempt to tackle the Auckland roading crisis, it addressed only its financial aspects, he said.

"Moreover, it does so in a particularly crude way by increasing fuel tax across the country."

Mr Kerr said the Government should be putting greater emphasis on the move towards toll roads.

Infrastructure Auckland assets of $700 million should be used to solve Auckland's problems.

He also criticised the "extravagant subsidisation" of public transport by car users.

The Employers & Manufacturers Association (Northern) said the plan did not address Auckland's traffic congestion crisis nearly to the extent that business and Auckland motorists needed.

Association chief executive Alasdair Thompson said the package raised new taxes but did not spend enough of the money raised on the priority areas in Auckland.

Auckland motorists, already denied a fair share of the nation's road building money, were now seeing "a disproportionate slice going into rail and public transport".

Mr Thompson said Auckland paid far more in fuel taxes, road user charges and motor vehicle registration than was ever invested back in the region's roads, and the Government's new plan did nothing to fix that.

The chief executive of the Road Transport Forum, Tony Friedlander, representing trucking firms, said it was good to see more money being spent on roading.

But he was "seriously concerned" to see 60 per cent of the money being raised by the extra charges "disappearing into black holes" such as regional development and an uncompetitive rail system.

The chief executive of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, Michael Barnett, said the plan had the ingredients to give a much-needed boost to Auckland.

But business groups "need to keep our foot on the pedal" to get the roading network completed by 2007.

Feature: Getting Auckland moving