Think ‘Green’ when you next see red while stuck in traffic

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Think ‘Green’ when you next see red while stuck in traffic

The Land Transport Management Bill, likely to become law within the next 24 hours, will stand as a testament to political vote trading, says Business NZ.

Business NZ Chief Executive Simon Carlaw says the new law will neither fix the problem of too much road users’ money being spent on non-roading purposes nor accelerate the development of the national roading network.

“The Green Party has led the development of this Bill and its agenda is evident – to tax motorists to pay for pet Green projects like walkways and coastal shipping. Waiting for its turn is the black hole of the rail network.

“The Labour Party has allowed the health of our roads to be traded in return for the Greens’ political support, reducing this important issue to a simple numbers game. The deals struck between these two parties call into question the value of MMP Parliamentary process.

“Our roads are already under-funded. The new law will make this worse, resulting in money that should be spent on roads going on other transport modes instead. But road transport is the only mode that can service customers door-to-door - denying road funding harms all other forms of transport and puts lives at risk.

“Politics has triumphed over safety and growth considerations. Motorists stuck in traffic should now think Green, not see red.”