Fergus Gammie has resigned as the chief executive of the New Zealand Transport Agency off the back of huge failures in the body’s regulatory work.
Gammie, who has been in the role around two years, tendered his resignation to the board and it was accepted. He will end his tenure on December 31. A replacement had yet to be announced.
Nearly 20,000 cars and thousands of trucks are currently the subjects of recheck orders as law firm Meredith Connell handle regulatory casework for the agency.
Gammie said in a statement he is stepping aside so the review and improvement of the regulatory function can be handled without distraction.
“As I said in October, the Transport Agency has long been focused and reliant on education and self-regulation rather than focusing attention and resources on ensuring regulatory compliance and enforcement. I also said that the public can expect that an increased number of enforcement actions would be taken to ensure compliance,” Gammie says.
“In resigning, I note that the approach and focus of the Transport Agency has necessarily changed,” Gammie says. “I ask that full support be given to the board, management team, and Meredith Connell as they work towards resolving the outstanding issues and towards developing a stronger regulatory enforcement framework to ensure the public has confidence in the Transport Agency’s processes.”
Despite the dramatic failures Gammie says he is proud of the work he has overseen at the agency.
“This has included establishing New Zealand’s first light rail project, setting up a new safety & environment directorate to push forward safety outcomes, piloting new digital mobility solutions in Queenstown and Auckland, while reopening State Highway 1 from Picton to Christchurch in December 2017 one year after the mountain moving Kaikoura earthquake.”
Gammie is a former ceo of Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA), chief operating officer of Auckland Transport, deputy director general transport services of transport for New South Wales and currently deputy secretary infrastructure and services with the same organisation.
