Heavy Trucks Decision Slammed As Irresponsible
July 30th, 2009
The Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ) says NZ needs to promote low-impact, environmentally efficient modes such as coastal shipping and rail to handle the growth in freight, not bigger trucks. Union General Secretary Trevor Hanson says proposed changes to land transport rules will see larger, heavier trucks dominating NZ roads for years to come.
Hanson says the trucking plan is doubly short sighted as increases in fuel costs and emissions will soon hit NZ hard, and road transport is the least preferable option. He says the Govt appears to be “living in a fantasy world. Every day you can read in the newspaper that reliance on fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions are placing us in severe danger, yet the Govt wants to make us more dependent on outmoded and harmful transport modes such as big trucks.”
If the plan goes ahead it will “torpedo” any hopes of an integrated transport system for NZ. “Pushing mega-trucks as the basis of transport in NZ is really a backwards step that will have negative effects in the medium to long term.”
Copyright © Media Information Ltd
NZ Transport Intelligence Briefing
Amalgamated Dairies
Strait Shipping