The Governance and Administration Committee has formally launched an inquiry into FENZ’s fleet management to examine the current state, procurement challenges, and future needs of all types of fire appliances.

Public submissions are being called from interested individuals and organisations. Public submissions will be open until 11.59pm on Thursday, 30 April 2026.

The terms of reference for the inquiry are:

1. Current state

• Understanding the current status of FENZ professional and volunteer appliance fleet.
• Understanding any current short-falls or opportunities.
• Understanding the lifespan of different appliances and the projected rate of replacement to meet current and future demand.
• Examining any current faults, breakdowns and serviceability issues with the current fleet.
• What are the emergency response capacity differences between the professional and volunteer appliance fleets?

2. Current and future needs

• Assessing the current fleet requirements to meet the needs of all New Zealand communities across all five FENZ outputs classes.
• This includes volunteer and paid output classes, and all types of appliances, including aerial.
• Understanding the future needs of FENZ over the next 5-10 years.

3. Procurement issues

• Reviewing procurement procedures and systems, including opportunities, capacity and challenges.
• Understanding the opportunities for New Zealand businesses to be part of new acquisitions.
• Understanding the cost/benefit of overseas purchases, including associated travel and transportation costs and logistical through-life support.
• Investigating opportunities for cost-effective and timely future procurement.

4. Introduction into, and return to, service

• Investigating the reason for delays with current Type 3 Appliances, including the cost of ‘parking up’ vehicles for a number of years.
• Investigating projected timelines and requirements to fully introduce into service or retire all current FENZ appliances
• Understanding acceptance issues body cracking and other unfit-for-purpose issues.
• Understanding all aspects of new aerial appliance introduction.
• Reviewing broader introduction into service for all types.

5. Communication

• Investigating the reasons for variations in answers to questions over recent months.

The committee will gather evidence through public submissions, hearings, and stakeholder consultations, and report its findings and recommendations to Parliament.

Tell the Governance and Administration Committee what you think

Make a submission on the bill by 11.59pm on 30 April 2026.

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