This week the NRC Transport & Logistics Advisory Group met with the director of Land Transport, and general manager of Regulation, Brent Alderton. This was our first meeting with Brent, who joined NZTA in September, the objective being to walk him through a state of the nation of the road freight industry, and what we think the key areas of focus need to be for the director of Land Transport.

When we sat down to go through key issues, the first challenge was keeping the list short enough for a 90-minute meeting. NZTA as a regulator is still not performing where they want to be – they need to do better, and they acknowledge this. The role of the regulator in enabling a thriving road freight industry is critical. Additionally, it needs to ensure compliance, and to be a high performing regulator it must also drive safety, productivity and efficiency outcomes. Our role as an industry association is to help them succeed in this.

We covered a lot of ground:

• Productivity and safety – improving productivity, safety and industry compliance.
• Sector workforce – improving labour structure, through better licensing, and stronger standards for safety and competence.
• Infrastructure – a well-built roading network delivers safety and efficiency outcomes.
• Just transition to net zero carbon – aligning regulatory requirements with alternative energy truck manufacturers build standards.
• Legislative reform – providing flexibility by moving to outcomes-based rules and away from prescriptive.

NRC will continue to work closely with NZTA, providing industry expertise and insights, helping them to succeed in underpinning a thriving industry.

Our Transport & Logistics Advisory Group has been an enormous success for NRC. As well as providing exceptional insights and guidance for me as CEO, it provides a credible platform for meeting with leaders and policy decision makers. One of its strengths is that it is multi-modal in its approach, being steered by the former Minister of Transport as chair, and with Fullers CEO Mike Horne a key member. In fact, it has been so successful, NZTA saw fit in pinching our Advisory Group chair Simon Bridges! Simon’s contribution to the Advisory Group was invaluable, and I’m delighted that NZTA is benefitting from his transport expertise.

There is a lot of work to be done – I wish Brent and the team at NZTA every success.

• By Justin Tighe-Umbers, CEO, National Road Carriers