As the battle for the hearts and minds of voters continues to heat up as the election draws closer, infrastructure spending is looming as a major election issue in as much as it is seen as a means of helping stave off economic recession. This is probably the first time in many elections this subject has been given so much attention by incumbent and aspiring MPs. The attention is certainly welcome as normally health and education are top priorities for many voters. The fact is most people use transport infrastructure far more often than they go to see the doctor and unlike formal education, transport is something which we all experience and use throughout our lives.

Exports Compromised. As expected, National, ACT, United Future and NZ First are firmly committed to making road building the number one priority with none of these parties signalling what their long-term plans are for the rail network or coastal shipping. This should be of concern to users of both modes of transport and those operating within them. Some industries such as the dairy sector and coal exporters are heavily reliant on rail transport to get their products to export. Without long term commitment to the rail network across the political spectrum, the future security of these exports will be compromised. Similarly coastal shipping operators and customers will be reluctant to invest further in their sector if future funding and support is not certain.

Narrow Definitions To The Fore. National has been quick to paint a possible Labour-led Govt as being either anti-infrastructure investment or unlikely to be able to invest in the sector due to the possible influence of the Greens. However, this is just political points scoring. National only sees investment in roading as investment in transport infrastructure and therefore paints any political party which wants to invest across the spectrum of transport modes as anti-transport infrastructure. This is a completely nonsensical argument. We need investment across road, rail and sea not just roads. The pain NZ has suffered in recent years due to high oil prices proves the point.

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