Cockpit doors on flights in NZ will be strengthened to prevent passengers attacking pilots, but other security measures remain up in the air because of their high cost. This is worrying the Govt, which is mindful of any backlash at measures which may drive up the cost of air travel internally. These are the concrete […]

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Kiwirail and NZ Transport Agency are warning the Govt’s Resource Management Act changes designed to streamline big projects will cause delays, and could increase costs and derail projects in the national interest. The two transport groups warn the new Govt bill delivers too much power to local authorities which will frustrate and delay major […]

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NZ’s biggest container port is under pressure to show an improved financial return as owner Auckland Regional Holdings contemplates a $591.8m drop in income over the next 10 years. MD, Jens Madsen, is proposing centralising container services and stevedoring at the port company’s Fergusson terminal, with the loss of 30 jobs. This will help meet […]

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The Road Transport Forum has the scent of victory in its nostrils as Transport Minister, Steven Joyce, ponders the independent review of Road User Charges. The lobby group, which has 4,000 members and associates with a combined 17,500 trucks on the road, may be about to see the fruits of the July 4 nationwide protests […]

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Northland’s new draft local authority transport programme, which could ultimately see more than a billion dollars spent on the region’s transport needs over the next decade, is a step closer with public submissions having closed this week.
The Northland Regional Land Transport Programme 2009-2012 is the first collaborative effort of its kind from five agencies; […]

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High profile Auckland regional councillor, Joel Cayford, has hit out at an alleged mismatch between transport and land-use planning for Auckland saying it is an energy-draining drag on the nation’s economy. “It’s like driving the economy with the choke out all the time - like leaving the lights on during the daytime. I don’t know […]

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Are Qantas and Air NZ competing in the same air space? The Australian airline is cutting 1,750 jobs and capacity and deferring aircraft deliveries as it heads for a record second-half loss. Its NZ rival reckons its second-half financial performance will improve, albeit from a low base in the first half. Qantas is immediately grounding […]

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The OECD’s report on NZ is highly critical of the previous Govt’s decision to buy back the unprofitable rail and ferry operations now known as KiwiRail from Aust’s Toll Holdings. The railway it says “is expected to be a loss-making venture for the foreseeable future.” Transport Minister Steven Joyce agrees but says the railway […]

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The war of words over the future of the Gisborne-Napier railway is heating up with Labour MP Moana Mackey being accused by trucking companies of “flogging a dead horse” in her efforts to get the Govt to invest in the railway line so it will carry more freight. The argument may well be played out […]

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The Govt’s approval of the Victoria Park motorway tunnel in Auckland could spark a further round of attacks and counter attacks between the Wellington region’s leaders and transport Minister Steven Joyce over roading budgets and affordability. The Capital’s leaders are still smarting at being unable to gain Central Govt funding for Transmission Gully motorway costed […]

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