Talking to people over summer though, it sounds like everyone’s experienced a road like it. There’s now an open question about whether New Zealand’s roads have more orange cones or more potholes.
This has contributed to a torrid summer for emergency services, with the road toll the highest it has been for four years.
There are several contributing factors to these sad statistics, but there is little doubt that the condition of New Zealand’s roads is a major one. The Act Party has previously revealed that by October 2022 there had been 555 complaints to NZTA about damage to vehicles because of the state of New Zealand’s roads. To put that into perspective, there were only 284 complaints across the entirety of 2018, before the pandemic. New Zealand’s roads just aren’t as safe as they used to be.
This makes a mockery of the Government’s “Road to Zero” campaign. As admirable as the intention might be, it is ineffective if people are driving on poorly maintained roads that are riddled with potholes. Government-funded ad campaigns aren’t going to fix the potholes. Lowering speed limits en masse hasn’t worked either.
Seven times the length of New Zealand, the distance of Wellington to Mexico has been under review for speed limit reductions in the past few years. It’s bizarre. What kind of modern society has ambitions to make freight and travel longer and slower over time? Act revealed in October 2022 that $45 million had already been spent on lowering speed limits as well, imagine how many road repairs could have been done with this money? I think most people would agree that would have been a better use of funds for road safety.
Lowering speed limits is just the Government’s attempt at a shortcut to better accident statistics. Like all of the worst “shortcuts”, it actually makes the journey longer though. Better roading infrastructure is what is really needed to ensure safer roads for Kiwis. Not slowing people down, causing frustration and putting further restrictions on businesses that have quite frankly put up with enough under this Government.
Of course this costs money, but the amount that is spent on ad campaigns and consultants’ reports on the lowering of speed limits is not insignificant, this would be better spent on repairs.
Increasing the level of private-sector funding is also needed. It would inject much-needed discipline into decision-making while allowing the Government to maintain prudent levels of public debt. Between 2007 and 2017, more than $300 billion was raised by funds globally to invest in infrastructure. Most of that capital was raised from insurance companies, pension funds and sovereign wealth funds (including our own New Zealand Super Fund) looking for long-term investments with reasonable returns.
Even the modern roads the Government are working on don’t appear to be considered an urgent matter by the Government. Act understands that Fletcher Construction and Acciona wrote to the Northern Express Group stating that the new Pūhoi to Warkworth road should have been opened to traffic from December 12, requesting that Waka Kotahi work with them to get it open for Christmas motorists. The public are yet to try it out though.
New Zealanders shouldn’t settle for a country linked by “goat track” roads and longer commutes. Instead, there should be an ambition for safe roads and reliable low-stress journeys so Kiwis can get to and from work, sport, and visiting their family around the country.
It’s time the Government started focusing on things that will get us moving, increase productivity and make life easier for all New Zealanders.
Brooke van Velden, MP, is the deputy leader of the Act Party.
