Neha Patil (Editor)

Ministry of Transport (New Zealand)

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Formed
  
1968 (1968)

Employees
  
141 (2015)

Jurisdiction
  
New Zealand

Headquarters
  
Level 6, 89 The Terrace, Wellington 6140

Annual budget
  
Vote Transport Total budget for 2016/17 $4,265,018,000

Ministers responsible
  
Hon Simon Bridges Minister of Transport Hon David Bennett Associate Minister of Transport

The Ministry of Transport (Māori: Te Manatū Waka) is the public service department of New Zealand charged with advising the government on transport policy.

Contents

History

The Ministry was established in 1968 with a merger of the then Transport Department and the Civil Aviation Department. In the 1970s, the roles of the Ministry included traffic enforcement, air traffic control, weather forecasting, air accident investigation and lighthouses. Many of these functions were divested to other government organisations over the period from 1988 to 2004.

The Ministry of Transport was formerly responsible for enforcement of traffic laws before their division of traffic officers was merged into the same organisation as the police in 1992.

Government transport sector

The transport sector includes four Crown entities and three State-owned enterprises:

Crown Entities

  • Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), includes the Aviation Security Service (AvSec)
  • Maritime New Zealand (MNZ)
  • New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA)
  • Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC)

    • State-Owned Enterprises

  • Airways Corporation of New Zealand Limited (Airways New Zealand)
  • Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited (MetService)
  • New Zealand Railways Corporation (NZRC) (trading as KiwiRail)

    • They are responsible for day-to-day hands-on management of daily traffic, aviation, rail and maritime activities. Their roles and the composition of their boards are defined in legislation.

    The Ministry negotiates an annual performance agreement with each entity on behalf of the Minister, monitors the entities' performance against that agreement, and recommends appointments to the entities' governing bodies.

    The Ministry provides policy advice to the Minister, in collaboration with the Crown entities, including the making of transport rules. As well, the Ministry negotiates on behalf of New Zealand, bilateral and multilateral air services agreements and is the licensing authority for foreign international airlines operating services to and from New Zealand.

    Additional

    The Ministry also:

  • administers, on behalf of the Minister, the contract with the Meteorological Service of New Zealand (Metservice) for the provision of public weather warnings and forecasts
  • manages the Motor Vehicle Register (MVR) and revenue collection functions which includes the collection and refund of motor vehicle registration and licensing fees, road user charges and fuel excise duty, and the maintenance of the MVR. The New Zealand Transport Agency is contracted to provide these services under an agreement with the Secretary for Transport.
  • has responsibility for the operation of the Milford Sound/Piopiotahi Airport, and oversees the Crown's interest in joint venture airports
  • administers transport legislation, rules and regulations
  • represents New Zealand at international fora
  • licenses all international airlines operating to and from New Zealand

    • The Ministry does not have a hands-on-role in daily traffic, aviation, rail or maritime matters.

    References

    Ministry of Transport (New Zealand) Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA