History of the Ministry of Transport

The Ministry of Transport (MOT) has undergone many structural and organisational changes since its creation in 1968. The Ministry was established in 1968 with the merger of the Transport Department and the Civil Aviation Service. By the early 1970s it was a 'super' Ministry which included all New Zealand's traffic enforcement staff, the Meteorological Service, and the Marine Department. All the modes of transport were integrated in a department of over 4,500 staff.

1980s

During the 1980s there were some changes to the way the Ministry was structured. It was the State Sector Act 1988 and the Public Finance Act 1989 that began a process that legally and physically changed the New Zealand's public sector landscape, the Ministry included.

The Ministry was structured into the business divisions of Land Transport (including Traffic Safety Service), Meteorological Service, Air Transport, Maritime Transport, and the Roading Division, which came from the Ministry of Works. The Roading Division became the Crown entity Transit New Zealand in October 1989.

1990s

When the National Party came into power in 1990 they commenced a process of splitting up the Ministry into State Owned Enterprises (SOEs), Crown Entities, or selling it to the private sector.

The Government also began to focus on reducing the road toll and introduced a number of new measures to do this. These included: combining of the Traffic Safety Service with the Police; introducing compulsory breath testing and speed cameras; requiring cyclists to wear helmets, and children to be restrained in vehicles.

One of the Ministry's current seven transport agencies, Transfund New Zealand, began operating in 1996 as a Crown Entity. Its main function was to allocate resources to achieve a safe and efficient roading system.

2000s

When Labour became government in 1999 they began the process that resulted in the New Zealand Transport Strategy being released in December 2002.

In late 2003, the State Services Minister, Trevor Mallard, and Transport Minister, Paul Swain, announced a review of the transport agencies to better align the Sector to deliver the New Zealand Transport Strategy objectives. This review will culminate in the combining of Transfund New Zealand and the Land Transport Safety Authority into one Land Transport Crown Entity in late 2004. Another recommendation of the Review includes more collaboration between Transport Crown Entities.

Dr Robin Dunlop commenced the role as Chief Executive of the Ministry of Transport and Secretary for Transport in February 2004. He has a long career in the New Zealand Transport sector and was formerly Chief Executive of Transit New Zealand, a position he held since 1989.

Alan Thompson took over as Chief Executive of the Ministry of Transport and Secretary for Transport in July 2006 following Dr Dunlop's retirement. Mr Thompson joined the Ministry straight from his role as Chief Executive of the Auckland Regional Transport Authority and has held several chief executive positions in the public sector both in New Zealand and Australia.
 
In 2008, Land Transport New Zealand and Transit New Zealand merged to become the New Zealand Transport Agency.

Martin Matthews became Chief Executive for the Ministry of Transport on 29 September 2008.

Significant Dates

• 1968 The Ministry of Transport was established with a headcount of nearly 2800 staff. 
   
• 1972 The Marine Department was added to the Ministry of Transport, assembling all modes of transport under one organisation and increasing the Ministry's headcount to just over 3700 staff. 
   
• 1987 Air Traffic Services moved from the Ministry of Transport portfolio when it became the State Owned Enterprise known as Airways Corporation of New Zealand Ltd.
   
  The Rescue Fire Service was transferred to individual airports within New Zealand.  
   
  A new government policy prompted an internal review of the regional structure. The existing secretaries carried out the review and they identified 50 positions to be removed. 
   
  Despite the Ministry's portfolios decreasing and the effects of the internal review, the headcount in 1987 was approximately 4200 staff. 
   
• 1988 The Ministry of Transport was restructured into business divisions: Land Transport (including Traffic Safety Service) Meteorological Service, Air Transport, Maritime Transport and Roading. The restructuring meant a reduction in headcount to approximately 3000. This was mostly due to natural attrition rather than redundancy. It also saw the different business divisions move from one building to separate premises. 
   
• 1989 The Roading Division became a Crown Entity called Transit New Zealand. 
   
  Local Authority Traffic Services were transferred to the Ministry of Transport. 
   
• 1990 The Office of Air Accidents became the Crown entity called the Transport Accident Investigation Commission. 
   
  The Ministry's headcount was approximately 2700 staff. 
   
• 1992 The Meteorological Service was separated from the Ministry of Transport and became the State Owned Enterprise called the Meteorological Service of New Zealand Ltd. 
   
  The Traffic Safety Service was transferred to the New Zealand Police.  
   
  Atmosphere and Climate Research was transferred to the Crown Research Institute, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.
   
  The Air Transport Division became a Crown entity called the Civil Aviation Authority. 
  
  The Driver Education Service was privatised. 
   
• 1993 The Safety and Regulation of boilers, lifts and cranes was transferred to the Department of Labour's Occupational Safety and Health unit.  
   
  The Land Transport Division became a Crown entity called the Land Transport Safety Authority.  
   
  The Maritime Transport Division became a Crown entity called the Maritime Safety Authority.  
   
  The Aviation Security Service was transferred to the Civil Aviation Authority. 
   
• 1994 The Vehicle Testing Division became a State Owned Enterprise called the Vehicle Testing New Zealand Ltd. 
   
  The Marine and Industrial Safety Inspection Service was privatised. 
  
  The effects of the downsizing of the Ministry resulted in a headcount at the end of 1994 of approximately 55 staff. 
   
• 1996 Transfund New Zealand was established.  
   
  The National Roads Fund was established. 
   
• 2000 The Ministry's headcount in 2000 was approximately 60 staff. 
   
• 2003 The State Services Minister Trevor Mallard and Transport Minister Paul Swain announced a review of the transport sector to explore opportunities and improve performance in the sector.
   
• 2004 Dr Robin Dunlop commenced the role of Chief Executive of the Ministry of Transport and Secretary for Transport. He has a long career in the New Zealand Transport sector and was formerly Chief Executive of Transit New Zealand, a position held since 1989.  
   
  In June 2004, the then Transport Minister Pete Hodgson and State Services Minister Trevor Mallard announced changes to the government transport sector.  
   
  This resulted in policy functions of the Land Transport Safety Authority (LTSA) and Transfund transferring into the Ministry of Transport. The operational functions of LTSA and Transfund were brought together in a new agency - Land Transport New Zealand. 
   
  There was no change to the safety and regulatory roles of the Maritime Safety Authority (MSA), the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), including the Aviation Security Service (AvSec). However, their scope increased to take New Zealand Transport Strategy objectives into account. There were no significant changes for Transit.
   
  This sector review came out of the government's 2001 evaluation of New Zealand's public management system, the Review of the Centre. At December 2004 the Ministry of Transport had approximately 91 staff.
    
• 2006 In May 2006, the Ministry moved to new offices in Wellington.
   
  Alan Thompson took up the role of Secretary and Chief Executive for the Ministry of Transport in mid-July 2006. He brings to the Ministry more than 30 years of public sector experience.
   
  Most recently, Alan worked as inaugural Chief Executive of the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA); before that he was Chief Executive of the Australian Capital Territory Department of Urban Services, which included major roading and passenger transport responsibilities. Earlier in his career Alan had been CEO of three Victorian government departments. 

• 2008 Martin Matthews became Chief Executive for the Ministry of Transport on 29 September 2008. He brings extensive experience in government, public policy and monitoring and working with Crown entities, having spent ten years as Chief Executive at the Ministry for Culture and Heritage immediately before joining the Ministry. Martin successfully managed sensitive issues and high profile initiatives during his time at the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, and was responsible fore overseeing the funding and accountability for 18 Crown entities, Crown companies and Non Governmental Organisations. Earlier in his career he was appointed Assistant Auditor-General.