Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand (Transporting New Zealand) has today announced changes to its structure.

Regional associations National Road Carriers (NRC), based in Auckland, and NZ Trucking Association, based in Christchurch, will no longer be represented by the national organisation Transporting New Zealand.

Transporting New Zealand chief executive Nick Leggett said: “Transporting New Zealand had five members and now there are four. Road Transport Association New Zealand (RTANZ) is made up of four regional groups giving nationwide representation to members and holding five spots on the Transporting New Zealand Board.

“NRC and NZ Trucking are part of one organisation, Owner Carriers Association of New Zealand (OCANZ), which held four spots on the Transporting New Zealand board. These board positions have relinquished as part of OCANZ’s desire to go its own way.

“Transporting New Zealand remains the national organisation in Wellington, representing the bulk of the industry by meeting with government officials and elected representatives in Parliament and advocating for the best results as rules, regulations and laws that affect road freight transport are developed and put into practice.

“Transporting New Zealand also holds the ownership of Te ara ki tua Road to success and will continue operating this essential industry traineeship in partnership with the government.

“As a national organisation, the RTANZ board were conscious of a desire from the road freight industry to have one voice and to avoid duplication between the three associations and the advocacy work of Transporting New Zealand. They proposed a new structure to OCANZ members NRC and NZ Trucking.

“In the end, those two organisations have decided to stick to their local areas and that presents an opportunity to refresh how services and advocacy are delivered to the rest of the road freight transport industry, via RTANZ and Transporting New Zealand.

“We expect an interim board will be set up to determine the details of our future direction and we remain committed to getting the best possible results for the road freight transport industry, which faces many challenges right now, and in the months and years ahead as New Zealand grapples with both Covid-19 and disruption in the global supply chain,” Leggett said.

*The above statement has been edited for publication but is otherwise presented as issued – Ed.