Ministry of Transport (New Zealand)


The Ministry of Transport is the public service department of New Zealand charged with advising the government on transport policy.

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

Ministers of Transport

The following ministers have held the office of Minister of Transport.
;Key