With 24-7 news cycles, the rapid spread of both information and mis-information on social media, and a tendency for people to panic, communication in a crisis is critical.
Accurate information needs to flow so that people can adequately manage what’s happening in front of them. Sometimes the picture can be changing rapidly. A trusted source of facts and critical advice must be in place before a crisis spirals. And that information needs to be available across all channels – not just to those who are adept at Google searching.
The Road Transport Forum (RTF) is aware the Covid-19, or coronavirus, is already having an impact on trucking businesses across a number of sectors. This is to be expected in a trading country where imports and exports to our far-flung corner of the world rely on a well-oiled global shipping network. To get goods on and off the ships, you need trucks. If the ships aren’t coming and going, then neither are trucks.
If you follow global shipping news, coronavirus is “convulsing every segment of the shipping industry, including container shipping, dry bulker, tanker, port, shipbuilding and banking”. (Lloyd’s List)
That’s not good news for New Zealand. The impacts on moving imports and exports are not going to be short-term here. I know this because I have been talking to ports and to operators across sectors, including forestry, freight forwarding, primary sector, and livestock.
The RTF is in the process of gathering information for our industry and setting up a communications network should there be a pandemic as a result of the spread of Covid-19.
Of course, the health and wellbeing of our nation is the most important thing and the Director General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield has been a communications exemplar. He’s held regular face-to-face updates with media and shown a willingness to answer questions – not the often-seen blocking by government department tsars, or dependence on information on a website. It’s reassuring to have Dr Bloomfield at the helm of health if this does develop into a pandemic.
We have been disappointed, so far, by the lack of communication to sectors such as ours about a “whole of government” response to what is already happening across businesses that drive the economy. Speeches from the Prime Minister and Finance Minister do not filter through to the government workers on the ground in the provinces, at least not for those in the trucking industry who have tried to contact them.
On 4 February, RTF wrote to Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni, asking for urgent advice from the Government for trucking operators and staff in the log transport industry. We asked for a no stand down period for the unemployment benefit and some kind of tax relief.
That letter bounced around Parliament from Minister to Minister with no response, so on 26 February, RTF wrote to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
We have again asked for immediate removal of stand down periods for benefits for those affected by this economic shock, and that tax relief is given by IRD to road freight operators and contractors who will struggle to meet upcoming tax payments. We have gone right to the top because operators are telling me how serious this is getting. We want to believe the Government has a good plan to get New Zealand through what could become a global pandemic.
RTF is listening to operators and we will continue to push the government to help our sector as the impacts of coronavirus really take hold.
Meanwhile, below are some websites that have information about coronavirus.
