The Alliance Party has announced its transport policy
focused on delivering economic participation, community
wellbeing, and national supply chain resilience during
climate emergencies and global disruption.
The
Alliance will establish a 100-percent publicly owned,
integrated freight and passenger network in which coastal
shipping and rail serve as the twin backbones of domestic
long-distance freight.
The Alliance is committed to
public ownership of other strategic transport assets such as
ports, aviation and transit.
Alliance Party transport
spokesperson and candidate for Banks Peninsula, Kyle
Turnbull, says New Zealand cannot keep relying on road
freight domestically, or on global shipping companies for
exporting and importing.
“New Zealand is a remote
island nation and a relatively small market on the global
stage. An integrated and efficient transport system for
moving goods domestically and internationally is essential
for our economic sovereignty and national
security.”
Mr Turnbull says recent disruptions to
global supply chains have already that New Zealand is
already exposed and vulnerable.
“Whether the threat
is the closure of a key shipping lane such as the Strait of
Hormuz, a global pandemic, or extreme weather events, New
Zealand needs resilient supply chains.”
“By
setting up rail and coastal shipping as the twin backbones
of freight, we will build a resilient network that can
respond to natural disasters, reduce carbon emissions, and
move freight off roads.”
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In the maritime transport
sector, Alliance would establish a State shipping line as
part of a wider domestic and regional shipping plan, and
implement a national port strategy.
The Alliance
proposes an increase in funding for public transport, and
the repeal of procurement requirements that force local
government into corporatised models of public transport
provision.
Mr Turnbull says public transport works the
best when it is well run, properly funded, and affordable,
so that people from all walks of life use it as the first
choice for their daily commute.
“That means it needs
to be run as a public service, integrated nationally, and
made as widely available as possible – not just in the
cities but also in the regions – so people can get where
they need to go.”
“Our upgrade of commuter rail
across the country will provide jobs and reconnect regional
New Zealand and small towns to the wider
economy.”
“The neglect of our regions is evident
in the lack of infrastructure, and the absence of a plan for
regional economic development. It is a decades-long scandal.
The Alliance is committed to changing that, and our
transport policy will form a key part of that
change.”
