Transporting New Zealand’s annual conference has kicked off in Invercargill bringing the road freight industry together to tackle topics around technology, safety, supply chains, workforce challenges and more.
Over 250 representatives of the industry arrived from around the country at the Ascot Park Hotel for the two-day event themed ‘The Road Ahead’ — the first conference in three years for the industry body following COVID-19.
It looked at the significant changes looming for the sector over the coming years and the impact this could have on both business and the New Zealand economy.
Transporting NZ chair Warwick Wilshier welcomed guests and acknowledged the recent split with other industry bodies National Road Carriers and NZ Trucking Association.
“I can assure you that it needed to happen, and I can also assure you that our ultimate goal is to move forward and bring this industry back together again.
“Our ultimate goal is to, under a new model, deliver what our members want; we want to understand what they want and to recognise their importance and we want to deliver,” he said.
Wilshier pointed to Transporting NZ’s recent highlights including its Te ara ki tua Road to success driver traineeship programme as well as the Driving Change Diversity Programme which aims to attract more talent to the sector.
“Road to success is taking a while to get into place but it really needs [transport operators] to buy into it and support it. I think it will take a little bit of time but we’ve got that connection with the operators, we know we’ve got their commitment.”
As for Transporting NZ, Wilshier said there’s a “bit more change to come yet”.
“We still have a reasonably fragmented structure in terms of regional associations, branches … things that have worked for many, many years but it’s time for change,” he adds.
Keynote speaker, acclaimed digital technology pioneer Sir Ian Taylor, told the conference that societies cannot go backwards, although it is still important to learn from the past. Taylor quoted a Māori proverb, “The footprints we lay down today create the path for tomorrow.”
He also quoted his own business’s mission statement: “Bugger the boxing, pour the concrete anyway,” describing the importance of innovation. Taylor said when the Covid pandemic hit in 2020, it massively affected his digital business, but his company turned it into an opportunity to pioneer visual simulation technology for world sporting events, including motor racing, golf, and baseball, while based in Dunedin.
Taylor also affirmed the importance of respecting the environment. “We are all connected, plants, people, and animals.”
Taylor’s message about change was echoed by other speakers, including Dave Ffowcs Williams, head of supply chain for Datacom, who spoke on sharing information systems, data customer profiling, and security; and Chris Claridge, chief executive of Potatoes New Zealand, who spoke about technology as a disruptor of transport, which he said is already happening at pace in Europe and will also happen worldwide.
Transport Minister Michael Wood beamed in via Zoom to outline the Government’s key priorities. Wood described the “ambitious vision” of Road to Zero to reduce deaths and serious injuries on the roads by 40% by 2050. “Based on international evidence, we can do the right things and save many lives – safer vehicles, safer drivers, safer roads, and safer speeds.”
Wood said the Government remains committed to spending money on improving roads, as well as the need for new technologies and taking action on climate change.
National’s transport spokesman Simeon Brown challenged the Government and said it needed to keep costs under control. “We have to be realistic, 93% of freight moves by trucks and that isn’t going to change any time soon regardless of how much money the government spends on rail.”
Nicole Rosie, chief executive of Waka Kotahi, also outlined the challenges ahead for New Zealand’s transport system. “We have to look 50 to 100 years ahead. This is complex and requires us to think hard about multiple outcomes, not just for this generation but for generations to come.”
*Click here for the event programme and full list of speakers.
