Last stand for roads lobby group

By PAULA OLIVER

Drivers trapped in traffic jams will be targeted by a last-ditch campaign to change controversial land transport legislation as it passes through Parliament.

The Get Real on Roads group, made up of business, industry and road transport representatives, plans to run a series of radio advertisements in drive-time next week against the Land Transport Management Bill.

Despite the bill appearing to have a safe passage through Parliament with the backing of the Greens and Labour, Business New Zealand chief executive Simon Carlaw said the fight was not over.

"The intention is to put as much pressure as we can on the debate in the House next week."

The bill will have its second reading in Parliament on Tuesday, but may not advance any further until later weeks.

It changes the way land transport is funded and managed, allowing for public-private partnerships and establishing a generic framework for road tolling schemes.

Business and road transport groups say there are onerous requirements for consultation which will be unattractive for any private investor.

But one of their major concerns is that the bill allows for any sum of money taken from road users via petrol taxes to be used on other things - such as rail, passenger transport, cycling, walking and coastal shipping. The definition of coastal shipping even allowed for foreign ships going up and down the coast of the country to win some of the money, it was claimed at a media briefing this week.

Carlaw said he hoped opposition parties and United Future would try to win amendments to the bill.

"This is not over. This is too important to be over. Roads are core to any growth prospects this country has."

Another point of contention in the bill is the lack of the words "economic efficiency" in the list of its purposes.

United Future leader Peter Dunne said he would "work hard on the Government" to ensure that economic efficiency was made one of the cornerstones of the policy.

National transport spokesman Roger Sowry said he had attempted to get the bill changed before, but would try again.

One amendment he wanted was to see a cap placed on the amount of money that could be used for non-road projects.

All the effort could yet fall on deaf ears.

During question time in Parliament yesterday, Transport Minister Paul Swain said that relying on motorways wasn't going to solve the transport problem.

"Passenger transport is really important, as are other things like cycling and walking. All of these things are going to help solve New Zealand's transport problem and it's about time the National Party woke up to this fact."