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NZ Trucking : Jan/Feb 2018
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WWW.GOCLEAR.CO.NZ Dave McCoid Editor adapted masthead.indd 1 8/02/2012 11:02:47 a.m. EDITORIAL I hope you all got a chance to read the New Zealand Listener 2 to 8 December issue. Aside from a despicable cover line that appears to draw its line of reasoning from an intellectual cesspool akin to that of the US gun lobby, the article is actually fine. It starts adhering to a modern-day news reporting ‘kick things off ’ fundamental by finding a pro-rail anti-truck zealot, in this case a career rail man and unionist who’s apparently spent much of his life when in a car swerving to avoid loads falling off trucks. However, after that it raises many real issues, some of which I’ve touched on previously, e.g. using pure accounting as the yardstick for the sustainable progress of humanity. What it fails to point out are the reasons why there are so many trucks on the road and what they do. No one who owns a truck owns any more of the things than they absolutely need. The trucks are there as a result of demand from a society that’s not only tending more and more to the purchase of wants over needs, but one that’s abusing the affluence that our forebears worked so hard to provide via an impatient petulance, intolerant of delays or saving for the things they want, essentials like an iPhone X. It also fails to point out who kept the South Island from economic meltdown over the past 12 months, nor does it recognise the influence of skyrocketing immigration on demand and consumption, and the relationship between that, infrastructure and congestion. Lastly, it also fails to acknowledge the best practice business preachers of the early nineties cautioning on the profit-sapping effect of inventory versus the green-backed nirvana of just-in-time. Thank goodness the author of the article found Don Braid. The only part worth reading is the last page, ironically. Yes, there’s exhaustive detail on how rail was dealt a savage blow by its original architects, aggravated further by the bludgeoning it’s taken in recent history by a series of either ignorant or manipulative owners. But as we say in trucking, the windscreen’s for looking forward and the rear-view mirror for looking back, and the size of each should determine where your attention ratio lies. The author attempted to foster a ‘them and us’ theme, something forum boss Ken Shirley appeared to fall for, although it is hard to know how much his words were manipulated, but Braid stopped her in her ‘tyre tracks’. He was adamant we absolutely need more freight on rail. He pointed out that even in its decrepit state our rail functions better than many other rail systems Mainfreight deal with around the world. Don Braid is absolutely right; we need freight on rail, no question. If rail produces less CO2 per tonne per kilometre, then fix it up and get freight on it – it’s a public health issue. We’ve been at peak trucking for years, unable to fill the required number of drivers’ seats needed to move the freight. Shifting more freight on rail isn’t going to threaten the livelihoods of truck drivers – we don’t have enough now – neither will it have an impact on the requirement for more trucks. A cohesive multimodal transport system is what we should be aiming for. Whether society will allow any government time to put that in place is another question...after all, they’ll want it ‘Now!’ (And for that you need a truck.) As we all head off on our end of year breaks, the team here at Long Haul Publications would like to wish you an extremely happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year. It’s been a tough year for our industry, with the loss of some passionate and influential people. We thank you all for the unbelievable support we’ve had from you throughout this year with John’s illness and then at the time of his death in October. We have some amazing plans for the future and are more driven than ever to bring you New Zealand’s best trucking media. Take care and remember – the vehicle in front is not holding you up at all in all reality, so just enjoy the drive. All the very best to all of you from all of us. It’s not about ‘them or us’ 6 New Zealand Trucking November 2017
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