WELLINGTON (CU)_In September this year, the government of New Zealand launched its National Land Transport Programme (NLTP), under which Wellington intends to spend $24.3 billion on transport services and infrastructure between 2021 and 2024. According to Transport Minister Michael Wood, this 44 per cent increase in spending will be directed towards development in public transport, cycling and walking, as well as safety and rail improvements and road maintenance.
However, according to Movement, a charity organisation promoting sustainable transport in the Pacific island, the programme is in contravention of the 2021 and 2018 Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport, which require the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) to take necessary action to minimise the greenhouse gas emissions of the transport sector. Accordingly, the environmental group is taking the Crown entity to court, requesting for a judicial review over the actions of the NZTA, in order to determine if they have acted within their powers and within the law.
“There are no negative consequences for NZTA in failing to follow Government policy objectives,” Movement transport planner Bevan Woodward said. “In fact, they are rewarded for increasing emissions because their funding comes directly from the consumption of petrol and diesel. Hence, the greater the burning of fossil fuels for transport, the greater NZTA’s revenues.”
According to Woodward, over the past three decades, emissions in New Zealand’s transport sector have increased by a whopping 101 per cent, outpacing population growth of 42 per cent. He noted that under section 19B of the Land Transport Management Act 2003, the NZTA has an obligation to give effect to the GPS on land transport, including those which require a lowering of carbon emissions.
“NZTA’s transport spending is a key reason why New Zealand has one of the highest rates internationally of car ownership, carbon emissions and obesity,” he said. “By continuing to allow transport emissions to increase, NZTA makes a mockery of the Government’s climate change reduction strategies for New Zealand.”
