Adress to the annual Bus Industry Dinner
13th March, 2013
BIC Chairman, Wayne Patch, Executive Director, Michael Apps, my parliamentary colleagues, ladies and gentlemen.Thank you for the opportunity to attend tonight's function and address you today on behalf of the Liberal and national parties.
I understand there will be a number of speeches this evening so I will keep my remarks short. The briefing I have been provided on your new report, Moving Australia 2030, is of great interest to me and no doubt will be to my colleagues as well.
Everyone in this room knows and appreciates the role the bus industry plays as a part of our integrated transport network.
A lot of the focus of transport policy is on the efficiency and productivity of freight logistics, moving goods and services around our vast nation.
But it should never be forgotten that passenger transport, whether it be on trains or buses, in cars, straddled upon bikes or on foot, is about moving people in the most efficient way possible.
We are all well aware of the congestion issues facing our capital cities and many of our major regional centres and the economic and social toll they take on our economy and our society.
Our population is on the rise, congestion is set to cost us $20 billion a year by 2020 and fuel prices are an increasing part of household expenses.
As Michael has already noted in his earlier commentary, there are a large number of Australian households living in so called 'mortgage and oil vulnerable' suburbs that don't have access to adequate public transport options.
The provision of effective public transport has the potential to not only improve productivity in our broader economy but also has the chance to relieve social stresses in these communities.
Over the past decade patronage of public transport in Australia has grown dramatically, with around 1.5 billion passenger trips per year in the bus and coach industry alone.
The Moving Australia 2030 report sets an ambitious target, aiming for 30% of all major city passenger trips being undertaken public transport, walking and cycling.
The Report makes a string of recommendations and calls on state, local and federal governments to implement a number of new strategies to encourage the use of public transport, car-pooling and active transport.
The Coalition will consider all of the Report's recommendations as we continue to develop our policies ahead of the Federal Election later this year.
The Report also picks up on the treatment of public transport under the carbon tax.
As we are all well aware, from 1 July 2014, buses will be directly subjected to the carbon tax through changes to the fuel tax credits scheme and the rail industry is already feeling the cost of this Federal Government policy.
Yet in a quirk of the current arrangement, private cars will not be subject to the tax, providing a disincentive to public transport. The incompatibility with the objective of your report is stark.
As I have said before, despite mass public transit having the potential to provide substantial environmental benefits for the community, the government has imposed this new 'environmental' tax on the industry.
The Report also makes some recommendations in relation to appropriate road pricing models, recommending mass-distance-location pricing be implemented taking into account the social benefit that the bus industry provides.
Reform to the current model of heavy vehicle pricing is under consideration and alternative pricing models that better reflect industry realities are being actively considered.
The Coalition will have more to say about road pricing following the release of the Regulatory Impact Statement, which is expected to be released in the middle of next year and will weigh up the costs of each of the proposals being considered, as well as the role that new technology will play in implementation.
Rest assured that we will not make any changes to road pricing arrangements without thorough and broad industry consultation and a consideration of the differing requirements of the bus industry, as opposed to the road freight industry.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge the innovative approach the bus industry has taken in policy reform and the way in which bus and coach manufacturing industry in particular, has been able to adopt cutting edge technology to be successful at a time when much of our manufacturing industry in Australia faces a difficult and uncertain future.
The fact that 80% of our 87,000-strong fleet is Australian built, employing 10,000 Australians, is a testament to the industry's ability to adapt to changing market conditions and adopt efficient work practices.
That's despite the challenge of imports from China and elsewhere.
By manufacturing products better suited to modern requirements and conditions, the Australian bus manufacturing industry has been able to capitalise and create a competitive advantage that sets them apart from their international competition and keeps them in the market.
Having said that, we can't take bus manufacturing or the bus industry as a whole for granted and we need to look to policy changes at all levels of government, to ensure its long-term viability.
Once again, thank you for the invitation to join you for dinner this evening and hear first-hand your thoughts and recommended policy proposals for all levels of government.
The Federal Coalition acknowledges the important role that the bus and coach industry plays in moving people and the increasing role it must play if we are to address congestion issues and declining productivity levels.
Thank you.
[ENDS]
