NZTA board 'refocused'

Transport minister Phil Twyford has announced the appointment of five new members to the New Zealand Transport Agency board.

Phil Twyford says they will work under the strong leadership of chair Sir Brian Roche to deliver the government’s transformative agenda along with a stronger regulatory focus.

"Our government has rebalanced transport spending to tackle the long term issues of boosting regional economic growth, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, easing traffic congestion, and preventing deaths and injuries on our roads," he says.

"The new board members bring the right mix of skills to deliver our transformative agenda and refocus the agency on regulating the land transport system.

"I anticipate releasing the review of the transport agency’s regulatory functions in the coming weeks. I expect the board to implement the direction signalled from that review and to make sure vehicles are safe on the road.

"We’re getting the agency back on track after it was failing to regulate under the last government.

"I’d like to thank David Smol for remaining on the Board until the appointments have been made and the outgoing members for their work."

The appointments will start on September 23 2019.