Regional Transport Committee

11 August 2021

Regional Transport Committee Minutes

Meeting held in the Council Chamber

36 Water Street, Whangārei

on Wednesday 11 August 2021, commencing at 9.30am

Tuhinga/Present:

Chairperson NRC Councillor Rick Stolwerk

Deputy Chair NRC Councillor Terry Archer

FNDC Councillor Ann Court

WDC Councillor Greg Martin

KDC Councillor David Wills

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency Alternate Representative, Regional Manager Maintenance & Operations, Jacqui Hori-Hoult

I Tae Mai/In Attendance:

Full or Part Meeting

NRC, Councillor Penny Smart

NRC Customer Services – Community Resilience Group Manager, Tony Phipps

FNDC Representative, Glenn Rainham

NTA General Manager, Calvin Thomas

NTA, Chris Powell

NTA, Greg Monteith

NRC Committee Secretariat, Laura Exton

NTA, Ian Crayton-Brown

NTA, Sharlene Selkirk

RoadSafe Northland, Ashley Johnston

NTA, Nicole Korach

NTA, Dean Mitchell

ACC, Craig Crawford

NZ Police, Terence Phillips (departed 1027am with apologies)

NRC, Auriole Ruka

The Chair declared the meeting open at 930am with a karakia.

Ngā Mahi Whakapai/Housekeeping (Item 1.0)

Ngā whakapahā/Apologies (Item 2.0)

Moved (Martin/Wills)

That the apologies from Steve Mutton, Director Regional Relationships Upper North Island – Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency for non-attendance be received.

Carried

Nga whakapuakanga/Declarations of Conflicts of Interest (Item 3.0)

It was advised that members should make declarations item-by-item as the meeting progressed.

Confirmation of Minutes - Regional Transport Committee meeting 2021 06 09 (Item 4.1)

ID:

Report from Laura Exton, Executive Assistant

Moved (Court/Archer)

That the minutes of the Regional Transport Committee meeting held on Wednesday 9 June 2021, be confirmed as a true and correct record.

Carried

Secretarial note: it was advised at the meeting that Waka Kotahi was deferring the following items to the following Regional Transport Committee meeting on 6 October 2021:

· A report covering the Waka Kotahi meeting with the Ministers held at the Northland Regional Council Chambers, Monday 28 June 2021.

· As per Minutes of Regional Transport Committee – Wednesday, June 9, 2021 – please table a paper to consider the strategy moving forward in relation to resolution two pertaining to

Northland Regional Land Transport Plan 2018-2021 Funding Uptake (Item 5.1)

ID: A1444810

Report from Chris Powell, Transport Manager - Northland Transport Alliance

Moved (Court/Stolwerk)

That the report ‘Northland Regional Land Transport Plan 2018-2021 Funding Uptake’ by Chris Powell, Transport Manager - Northland Transport Alliance and dated 27 July 2021, be received.

Carried

Secretarial note: it was noted that the Waka Kotahi National Land Transport Plan is scheduled for release 1 September 2021. Discussion was had regarding the implications of this late scheduled release.

Action: The Chair and the GM Customer Services – Community Resilience will bring the following  issues up with Labour MPs next week on behalf of Northland Regional Council and Regional Transport Committee:

1. How do Waka Kotahi decide which projects to fund – is it possible for projects to be funded without being included in our RLTP?

2. The delay in the release of the NLTP is causing issues with our contractors – uncertainty, aren’t able to provide a continuous pipeline of work.

3. Timing of safety improvements.

Action: The NTA General Manager is to provide notes from the Tuesday 17 August 2021 contractors meeting to the Regional Transport Committee members.

Northland Road Safety Update (Item 6.1)

ID:

Report from Ian Crayton-Brown, Transport Projects Officer

Moved (Stolwerk/Archer)

That the report ‘Northland Road Safety Update’ by Ian Crayton-Brown, Transport Projects Officer and dated 27 July 2021, be received.

Carried

Action: Waka Kotahi to send the report relating to a recent fatal crash in Kaipara District to Cr Wills once it has been released.

Regional Land Transport Plan for Northland 2021-2027 and Regional Public Transport Plan 2021-2031 Progress Report (Item 6.2)

ID:

Report from Chris Powell, Transport Manager - Northland Transport Alliance

Moved (Court/Stolwerk)

That the report ‘Regional Land Transport Plan for Northland 2021-2027 and Regional Public Transport Plan 2021-2031 Progress Report’ by Chris Powell, Transport Manager - Northland Transport Alliance and dated 28 July 2021, be received.

Carried

Northland Regional Council Regional Transport Committee Elected Representative - Councillor Archer (Item 6.3)

ID:

Report from Chris Powell, Transport Manager - Northland Transport Alliance

Moved (Stolwerk/Martin)

That the report ‘Northland Regional Council Regional Transport Committee Elected Representative - Councillor Archer’ by Chris Powell, Transport Manager - Northland Transport Alliance and dated 29 July 2021, be received.

Carried

Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency Report to Regional Transport Committee (Item 6.4)

ID:

Report from Steve Mutton, NZTA - Director Regional Relationships Upper North Island

Moved (Court/Stolwerk)

1. That the report ‘Waka Kotahi Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency Report to Regional Transport Committee’ by Steve Mutton – Director Regional Relationships, Upper North Island and dated 11 August 2021 to be received.

Carried

Action: Waka Kotahi are to provide a copy to the Regional Transport Committee of the New Zealand Auditor General’s Report titled ‘New Zealand Transport Agency: Maintaining state highways through Network Outcomes Contracts’ dated July 2020 on the level of services provided to Northland.

Action: Waka Kotahi are to provide information on this independent audit (ISBN978-0-9951321-9-1) taken on how Waka Kotahi spend their money. This will start a discussion regarding sustainability of the funding model moving forward (e.g. rail network investment programme – where is this money coming from?).

Action: Waka Kotahi have completed a ‘deep dive’ to address Northland road scabbing, and are to table a paper at the 13  October 2021 meeting regarding this.

Action: Waka Kotahi to inform the Regional Transport Committee of the Loop Road project progress.

· Is this the southern bridge still intended to be a 4-lane?

· When will the job be completed?

Rural Driver License Testing and Mentoring in Northland (Item 7.1)

ID:

Report from Chris Powell, Transport Manager - Northland Transport Alliance

Moved (Court/Stolwerk)

1.         That the report ‘Rural Driver License Testing and Mentoring in Northland’ by Chris Powell, Transport Manager - Northland Transport Alliance and dated 29 July 2021, be received.

2.         That the Regional Transport Committee approve the discussion of Rural Driver License Testing and Mentoring in Northland.

Carried

Secretarial note: recommendation 3 ‘that the Regional Transport Committee agree on a plan of action to address those issues pertaining to Rural Driver License Testing and Mentoring in Northland’ was not carried. The actions below were agreed upon instead.

Action: Waka Kotahi to provide the Regional Transport Committee with a report on the findings of the enquiry into the 2019 driver licensing system, and the steps they’re proposing to address the challenges this presents to rural New Zealand.

Action: Regional Transport Committee to do their own investigation into the current situation in Northland in terms of programmes and supporting people to get their driver’s license. It was suggested that Nicole Korach (recently appointed NTA Road Safety Programme Manager) would be appropriate for this action, in collaboration with Ashley Johnston (RoadSafe Northland).

Proposal for Production of an Indicative Economic and Delivery Business Case into the Proposed Four-Laning of State Highway 1 Between Marsden Point and Whangarei (Item 7.2)

ID:

Report from Chris Powell, Transport Manager - Northland Transport Alliance

Moved (Court/Wills)

Secretarial note: with the approval of the mover and seconder, the original motion was substituted with the following amendment (as per Standing Order 23.4).

1.         That the report ‘Proposal for Production of an Indicative Economic and Delivery Business Case into the Proposed Four-Laning of State Highway 1 Between Marsden Point and Whangarei’ by Chris Powell, Transport Manager - Northland Transport Alliance and dated 2 August 2021, be received.

2.         That the Regional Land Transport Committee instigate the production of an Indicative Economic and Deliverability Business Case into the proposed four-laning of State Highway 1 from Marsden Point to Whangarei.

3.        That the Regional Transport Committee obtain a quote to undertake a re-review of the cost of the Proposed Four-Laning of State Highway 1 Between Marsden Point and Whangārei. (This to then be presented at the next Northland |Forward Together Strategic Planning Workshop to determine next steps).

Carried

Action: Cr. Court to distribute the documents and links that she referred to in the discussion, including the personal notes she has produced, to the Regional Transport Committee members.

Receipt of Action Sheet (Item 8.1)

ID:

Report from Laura Exton, Executive Assistant

Moved (Stolwerk/Archer)

That the action sheet be received.

Carried

Whakamutunga (Conclusion)

The meeting concluded at 11.36am.