Transport Policy Short-Sighted: Forum
March 26th, 2009
The Sustainable Energy Forum has criticised the Govt’s plans to increase state highway funding and make highway construction the centrepiece of transport policy. Convenor of the Sustainable Energy Forum, Tim Jones, says, “The Govt is living in a fool’s paradise if it thinks that highway construction is the way to improve our transport system.” Although the Govt’s announcement of its continued commitment to the Auckland and Wellington commuter rail systems is welcome, it’s the only good news in these announcements.
“Everything else the Govt has announced shows that it regards the private car as the be-all and end-all of our transport system.”
Vulnerable position. Jones says the Minister of Transport obviously hasn’t been paying attention to International Energy Agency reports warning of a supply crunch in world oil supplies approaching 2012. He adds the supply crunch is likely to be worsened by current low world oil prices, as these discourage investment in oil exploration and production. “Given all this, you’d think the Govt would be interested in other sources of transport energy,” he says commenting on the Govt’s decision to abandon targets for the introduction of bio-fuels. He warns the Govt’s changes to transport policies will lead to increased greenhouse gas emissions, more dependence on fossil fuels, and a transport system more hostile than ever to alternative forms of transport.
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