Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More
Parliament

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | Video | Questions Of the Day | Search

 

Sustainable growth and safety for transport sector


Sustainable growth and safety for transport sector

Transport Minister Pete Hodgson and State Services Minister Trevor Mallard today announced changes to the government transport sector.

Pete Hodgson said these changes are designed to create an affordable, integrated and safe transport system for New Zealand by 2010, as set out in the 2002 New Zealand Transport Strategy (NZTS).

The policy functions of the Land Transport Safety Authority and Transfund will be transferred into the Ministry of Transport, to enable more coherent policy development and delivery across the sector.

The operational functions of LTSA and Transfund will be brought together in a new agency. This will result in both the Ministry of Transport and the new agency being able to take a more cohesive approach to delivering on NZTS' objectives, nationally and regionally. In particular, the safety programme and national land transport programme will be integrated. The relationship between the LTSA and its various service agents will be unchanged following the LTSA's operational responsibilities being transferred to the new agency.

There will be no change to the safety and regulatory roles of the Maritime Safety Authority (MSA), the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), including the Aviation Security Service (AvSec). They will however have their scope increased to take NZTS objectives into account. There will be no significant changes for Transit.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

This sector review came out of the government’s 2001 evaluation of New Zealand’s public management system, the Review of the Centre.

Transport Minister Pete Hodgson said the new structure will reduce fragmentation, enabling the delivery of better, more co-ordinated and responsive, sustainable transport outcomes.

"This government has changed the way New Zealand looks at transport. This was clearly defined in the NZTS. In December 2003, we addressed decades of underfunding, investing $2.97 billion in land transport through the Investing for Growth transport package," Pete Hodgson said.

There are expected to be very few redundancies as a result of these changes. Legislation will be needed to effect some changes announced today and will be introduced later this year.


Pete Hodgson will be available in his office to take calls on the Transport review between 10:30 and 11:15 am.

Background information and a copy of the full report are available on line at: http://www.beehive.govt.nz/transport

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines


Gordon Campbell: On The US Opposition To Mortgage Interest Deductibility For Landlords


Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don't think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of political capital by giving landlords a huge $2.9 billion tax break via interest deductibility, while still preaching the need for austerity to the disabled, and to everyone else...
More


 
 

Government: Concerns Conveyed To China Over Cyber Activity
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity... More

ALSO:


Government: GDP Decline Reinforces Government’s Fiscal Plan

Declining GDP for the December quarter reinforces the importance of restoring fiscal discipline to public spending and driving more economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says... More

ALSO:


Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.