Tonight NRC is hosting its 90th Annual General Meeting. We have a proud history of helping our members thrive through ever-changing environments. And right now we have one of the most complicated operating environments seen for decades. Our three largest transport agencies are being renovated, infrastructure funding is under enormous pressure, and the industry is continually buffeted by geopolitical and weather events.

Road freight operators have had a punishing year. The Iran conflict saw diesel prices more than double, squeezing cash flows just as the industry was emerging from two years of economic slump. Weather systems have battered state highways from Taranaki to Gisborne. Managing costs has never been more demanding. Operators are doing it tough.

The need for strong association leadership to help members navigate all of this is more crucial than ever.

As I’ll be telling members at our AGM, NRC is in the best shape it has been in for many years. And the industry is recognising it. More than 150 new members joined us in the past year, the strongest growth we have seen in some time. Our team handled more than 3,500 member support requests across the year helping operators navigate NZTA audits, apply fuel adjustment factors to commercial contracts, model route costs, manage compliance obligations and much more. When times are hard, demand for what NRC does goes up. That is what a strong industry association looks like.

On fuel, we have been working on two fronts. Our partnerships with Z Energy and Mobil continue to deliver highly competitive discounts at the pump, putting real money back into members' businesses at exactly the moment they need it most. And at the policy level, the Freight Advisory Council, which NRC called for and helped establish, has played a central role in co-ordinating the Government's response to the Iran conflict on behalf of the road freight sector.

Beyond fuel, our calls for change are being heard. The tired road-versus-rail debate is gone, replaced by a Government that now speaks the language of freight efficiency and intermodal supply chains – language NRC has championed for years. Last month the Regulatory Systems Transport Amendment Bill was passed, giving the Director of Land Transport new powers to immediately remove transport services licences from operators who flagrantly disregard health and safety compliance. And just last week, both sides of Parliament ratified the 30-year National Infrastructure Plan — a political milestone that NRC led the way in calling for.

A sign of NRC’s strength is that more than 150 members will join us at tonight’s AGM. The road ahead is complex but NRC is in great shape to help the industry meet it.