Nature and Scope of Functions - Statement of Intent 2008 - 2011
Last updated on
24/09/2008 2:33 p.m.
The Ministry of Transport is the government's principal transport policy adviser. We provide strategic transport leadership, including overall direction and leadership for transport Crown entities and other relevant agencies. The Ministry works collaboratively across the sector, and in particular with Crown entities, to develop and deliver an integrated programme of action that will fulfil the vision and objectives of the updated New Zealand Transport Strategy.
The Ministry's vision is:
'Leading transport solutions for New Zealand'.
What we are part of
The New Zealand government transport sector includes: the Minister of Transport; the Minister for Transport Safety; the Associate Minister of Transport; the Ministry of Transport; six Crown agencies; three state-owned enterprises; and one Crown established trust. These agencies and their functions are explained in Table 2. Legislation to merge two of the Crown entities (Land Transport New Zealand and Transit New Zealand) into a new Crown entity (New Zealand Transport Agency) by 1 July 2008 is currently before Parliament.
Our Role
The Ministry assists the Transport Ministers by developing legislation to be enacted by Parliament; drafting regulations and rules in association with the transport Crown entities; undertaking direction setting, for example the update of the New Zealand Transport Strategy and the Government Policy Statement; and representing New Zealand's transport interests internationally. It also works closely with ONTRACK, the agency responsible for the national rail network.
The Ministry acts as the agent for the Ministers of Transport in the government's relationship with the transport Crown entities. This includes recommending appointments to the entities' governing bodies; commenting on the entities' statement of intent documents; negotiating annual output agreements; monitoring the entities' performance; and advising the Ministers.
While the Ministry is primarily a policy and monitoring agency, it is responsible for some operational functions including:
- contracting Land Transport New Zealand to operate the Motor Vehicle Register (MVR) and collect motor vehicle registration and licensing fees, road user charges and fuel excise duty
- licensing all international airlines operating to and from New Zealand managing the Milford Sound/Piopiotahi Aerodrome
- overseeing the Crown's interest in joint venture airports1
- administering a contract with the Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited (MetService) for the provision of a public weather warning and forecast service.
Transport Investment
In 2008/09 nearly $3 billion of funding is projected to be administered by the government transport sector. Table 3 (page 6) provides a summary of the revenue inflows by source and expenditure outflows for each entity. Land Transport New Zealand (Land Transport NZ) accounts for approximately 83 percent of this activity (2006/07). Table 1 shows a breakdown of this expenditure for a typical year.

Table 2: New Zealand Government Transport Sector (PDF v7.0, 125kb)
We're sorry. We are unable to include Table 2 contained in this report in an accessible format as it is too broad for the width of a web page. The table Provides a view of transport sector entities and their responsibilites. If you would like assistance with this table please contact Lynley Hutton on +64 4 439 9300.
Table 3: Transport Sector Revenue and Expenditure 2007/08 (see note 1)
| Crown Revenue $000 |
National Land Transport Fund $000
|
Other Revenue $000
|
Total Revenue $000
|
Entity
|
Outflows
$000
|
Allocation
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
145
|
0 |
68,224
|
68,369
|
Aviation Security Service
|
74,747
|
100% Aviation Security Services
|
|
1,760
|
0
|
26,074 |
27,834 |
Civil Aviation Authority |
28,048 |
10% Policy Advice, 90% Aviation Safety and Security Oversight and Enforcement |
| 430,603 |
1,776,153 |
138,488 |
2,345,244 |
Land Transport
New Zealand |
2,335,800 |
Refer to separate pie chart (Table 1) |
| 8,461 |
0 |
16,062 |
24,523 |
Maritime
New Zealand |
24,446 |
83% Maritime Regulation/Monitoring, 3% Marine Environment, 14% Search and Rescue |
| 87,071 |
0 |
12,749 |
99,820 |
Ministry of Transport |
99,820 |
65% Motor Vehicle Registration and Revenue, 34% Policy Advice, 1% Other |
| 0 |
255,840 |
1,891 |
257,731 |
New Zealand Police
|
257,731 |
100% Road Safety |
| 2,722 |
0 |
31 |
2,753 |
Transport Accident Investigation Commission |
2,751 |
100% Transport Safety |
| 530,762 |
2,031,993 |
263,519 |
2,826,274 |
|
2,823,343 |
|
|
1,171,900 |
1,210,140 |
Transit
New Zealand* |
1,507,390 |
30% Road Maintenance, 47% Road Construction, 7% Property Purchase, 2% Public Transport, 14% Other |
|
* Transit is funded primarily by Land Transport NZ, so values have been excluded from the table to ensure no duplication.
Note 1: Figures are from published Statements of Intent for 2007-2010. Detailed figures for 2008/09 for each agency are yet to be finalised at time of print (May 2008).
Ministerial Purchases from other Parties
Appropriations in Vote Transport are also used to purchase a range of services and advice provided by the transport Crown entities and the MetService. These services and advice contribute to:
- the development and maintenance of New Zealand's roading infrastructure
- safe transport operations in the maritime, aviation and land sectors
- public information on the weather
- search and rescue services.
Footnotes:
- Joint Venture Airports (JVAs) are airports operated by local authorities in partnership with the government.
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