Mainfreight MDr Don Braid says reform of the port sector and putting KiwiRail on a strong economic footing are the two biggest transport issues facing NZ and the Govt can’t afford to opt out. “There’s no plan for how our ports will compete on the world stage,” he says. Transport Minister Steven Joyce “thinks internal competition between ports is a good thing - that’s wrong - our competition is coming from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.”

Braid says companies shouldn’t underestimate the threat of NZ ending up being serviced by a feeder port across the Tasman because of the determination of indebted international shipping lines to slash costs. According to Seatrade Container, shippers are beholden to their banks, which hold the paper on almost 800 vessels waiting to be built at a cost of almost $US400bn. Braid says, “if they can’t get their ships handled in world-class time then they may well end up in larger ports in larger countries then trans-shipping to NZ. That’s no good for exports or imports.”

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Mainfreight has made its position on KiwiRail clear before. The listed transport company could double its spend on rail “if we got the services we want.” He says should a single “super-port” emerge, servicing larger container vessels, “rail will play a key role. Let’s not get too focused on just improving the roads - we do move too much freight by road.”

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