GUEST EDITORIAL: Better roads part of reason for NZTA shift

Central regional director of the NZTA Jenny Chetwynd explains the rationale behind the decision to close the Wanganui office.

Last November, the NZ Transport Agency made a very difficult decision. We announced we were relocating our Wanganui office, which is largely tasked with looking after the region's state highway network, to Palmerston North. For those who have enjoyed the benefits of the dedication and professionalism of our long-serving Wanganui team, the question is; if it isn't broken, why fix it?
Our Wanganui office has always performed an outstanding role in looking after the region's state highways. And state highways are a very important part of the wider region's transport system - but they are only one part of a well functioning transport system, which also includes maintaining local roads, funding public transport, making sure that drivers and vehicles are safe and properly licensed, and providing options for walking and cycling.
The state highway network does not operate in isolation from the rest of New Zealand's transport system. The NZTA is focused on providing a better, safer and more integrated transport system for all New Zealanders, and we need to reflect that in the way we work and in the way our organisation is structured.
The NZTA was formed in 2008 from the merger of Transit and Land Transport NZ. With the establishment of the new organisation came a greater range of responsibilities, and an increased need to work more collaboratively across the entire transport system. Consequently, we also have a wider range of stakeholders who we need to be in constant contact with. Throughout the country, our former Transit and Land Transport offices have been successfully brought together, and this has given our organisation a better grasp of how New Zealand's transport system works as the sum of its parts, and how our activities affect the people we're here to serve.
We believe that the functions which the Wanganui office currently provides can be carried out more effectively by bringing them together under one roof with our regional planning, funding, public transport, licensing and regulatory functions. We know that our organisation will perform better and provide better services for our customers in Wanganui and elsewhere in the region by giving our people the opportunity to work together and identify previously unrealised opportunities to collaborate and share their knowledge and expertise.
For example, it means that we'll be better placed to understand how highway-related activities affect public transport, the regulation of commercial vehicles, and the planning of local road networks - and vice versa.
As well as bringing our functions together under one roof, our Palmerston North location offers numerous benefits in terms of being part of a larger office, and therefore better corporate infrastructure and support. Palmerston North is also closer to a greater concentration of our stakeholders, as well as being a key transport hub that is close to SH1, which services a large proportion of road users and is the key strategic route for New Zealand. We're also opening a small office in New Plymouth to ensure we'll be able to provide better service across the wider region.
We appreciate that there is a lot of institutional knowledge held by our experienced Wanganui staff, and we're committed to working with those who have chosen to leave the organisation to ensure their knowledge won't be lost to the region.
Our commitment to Wanganui remains strong. We will still be working closely with the council, the local contracting industry, and the public to ensure Wanganui's transport system receives the same high standard of service it's always had. We'll continue to advocate for Wanganui's needs at the Regional Transport Committee. And when you're driving in and around Wanganui, you'll still see our maintenance and improvement work under way on the roads, as we continue to make Wanganui's highway network safer and more reliable. That won't change.
This decision wasn't made lightly. We have stressed from the start this was never about cost cutting or job losses. We consulted extensively with staff and stakeholders, including our colleagues at the Road Transport Association. We appreciate that the outcome may have disappointed a number of them, but we did listen and closely consider their views.
We've asked our Wanganui team to come with us, and we've offered them relocation assistance and other support. Many of them have chosen to remain where their homes and families are. We'd love them to come to Palmerston North, but we understand that home is where the heart is, and Wanganui is home to them.
Understandably, many in Wanganui, including the Chronicle, have asked us to stay. Our focus is on ensuring we do what we can to support affected staff members, while continuing to deliver a high level of service on the state highway network. And although our office is moving, we'll continue to use the local consultants, contractors and suppliers who have served Wanganui so dependably over the years. Maintaining a safe and efficient highway network is important to us.
Where staff vacancies have arisen, we're recruiting to ensure we maintain a high calibre of expertise in our new office. Our engineers will continue to travel the network extensively, and the day-to-day maintenance and capital project work will continue to be carried out by our suppliers.
The NZTA's decision to relocate to Palmerston North will help us to develop an even more unified, collaborative and long-term approach towards addressing the region's transport needs. In short, it will help us do our job better. It wasn't an easy decision, but we stand by it.