Hon Phil Twyford

Minister of Transport

23 November 2018

Minister of Transport Phil Twyford has today requested that the Ministry of Transport, as the New Zealand Transport Agency’s (NZTA) monitor, review NZTA’s performance of their regulatory functions.

The review comes on the back of a number of concerns that have emerged around NZTA’s regulatory function and a backlog of compliance cases that have not been properly managed.

“When this issue was brought to my attention I was seriously concerned about the scope and seriousness of the failures that have occurred. That is why the Board announced the appointment of Meredith Connell to address the backlog of compliance files and to provide oversight of the Agency’s regulatory function, a move I strongly support.

“The Meredith Connell work is making good progress. All identified high priority files have been reviewed by them.

“Since then, given the information that I, and the public, became aware of this week around the Agency’s performance, it is appropriate to ask for external advice on NZTA’s regulatory performance.

“I have formally instructed the Ministry of Transport to review NZTA’s regulatory performance. There are a number of issues that need to be addressed to provide assurance to me, and the public that deficiencies around NZTA’s regulatory performance are identified and addressed, and that is why we are asking for advice on what changes to the regulatory function are required.”

“As I made clear when I first became aware of the backlog of cases, I am disappointed in the way NZTA has been carrying out their regulatory functions.

“Our Government is making safety a priority,” Phil Twyford said.

The review is due to be completed by the end of March 2019.

ends

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