Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand

Transport Minister Michael Wood will head an exciting and diverse lineup of speakers at the Road Transport Forum’s The Road Ahead - 2021 Transporting New Zealand Conference.

The speakers will entertain, challenge and inform delegates on the significant issues facing our industry and the country as the world begins to look beyond COVID-19.

Opposition Leader Judith Collins will provide the National Party’s view on the state of the economy and the Government’s decisions in the wake of COVID. This will provide delegates with the opportunity to contrast and compare the visions of our two major parties a year into Labour’s second term in office.

Former V8 Supercars fan fav...

In May, Stuff ran a story about truck drivers illegally working up to 120 hours a week. The three anonymous drivers said they were being put in an impossible situation by their employers.

Road Transport Forum chief executive Nick Leggett says the industry must stand up for measures that maximise and improve safety for its workers and for all road users, and the RTF supports the introduction of electronic logbooks, over time.

“We want all drivers to return home safely at the end of their work day, and we believe the gradual introduction of electronic logbooks with GPS will eliminate opportunities for logbook discrepancies of drivers’ hours.

“The technology already exi...

The Government says Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs) will be on the legislative table this year, and will be law by 2022. 

Fair Pay Agreements are basically “national awards” rebranded, says Road Transport Forum chief executive Nick Leggett – and the Forum is “strongly opposed to any form of centralised wage bargaining, such as FPAs, or any other forms of labour market regulation that pre-sets the remuneration and work conditions of professional drivers.

“We support the need for road freight businesses to have flexibility when it comes to labour costs in a changing marketplace with ever-changing technologies.” 

The Australian Fair Work Act, on which these FPAs ar...

You don’t have to travel far on our roads to feel like you’re on a dodgem track – having to take evasive action to avoid potholes and uneven road surfaces. 

Instead of making the necessary investment to maintain and repair these roads, Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency’s plan seems to be to simply reduce speed limits and blame speed for any crashes.

The latest proposal is to lower the speed limit from 100km/h to 80km/h on an 83-kilometre section of the Napier-Taupo Road (State Highway 5).

Because of historically poor design and engineering, the road surface on SH5 is in a terrible state. It has poor traction, making it like driving on ice. The surface has...

After a tumultuous 2020 that tested our resilience and once again illustrated the strength and adaptability of New Zealand’s road transport sector, the Road Transport Forum looks forward to gathering the industry together to reflect on its recent challenges and discuss the opportunities it has to shape NZ’s transport future. 

Registrations are open now for The Road Ahead – 2021 Transporting NZ Conference that will take place on September 25 and 26 at Invercargill’s Ascot Park Hotel. 

The Conference immediately follows the NZ Road Transport Hall of Fame (on the evening of September 24) and will provide delegates with the opportunity to attend both industry events ...