Twyford is the issue, not the board

Phil Twyford can sack as many board members and go through as many Chief Executives as he likes but no problems will be solved until he accepts that he and the Government’s policies are the problem, National’s Transport spokesperson Chris Bishop says.

Minister of Transport Phil Twyford this afternoon sacked the entire New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) board, apart from the Chair, appointing five new members with two more to come.

Mr Twyford is already onto his third Chair and the Chief Executive position remains vacant.

“Transport is a disaster area for this Government. The Prime Minister’s own handpicked Business Advisory Council says we are facing ‘an infrastructure crisis’ and no new major projects have started under this Government.

“The Government has cancelled or delayed 12 major roading projects around the country, some of which were ready to go when National left office, and has caused huge uncertainty for the construction sector.

“The willingness to fire five board members in a single day severely undermines the ability of the NZTA board to fulfil its functions.

“How can a mass clean out of the NZTA board improve this disastrous situation? There will be a mass loss of institutional expertise and knowledge.

“Mr Twyford needs to realise his policies are the problem, not the board members.”

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