RIDING THE ROLLERCOASTER
NZ should have been better prepared. After all we have one government, one ministry, one transport regulator and one police force.
Aside from Police and Ministry of Transport, the other standout agency was the Ministry of Social Development, which had the support packages up and functioning with dedicated liaison staff in place to smooth the way and answer (that’s right, actually answer!) questions.
This will happen again because, if not Delta, some other variant will pop up. Hopefully next time we will be ready to press the ACTION buttons and simply change down a cog and carry on delivering essential services with a team of exceptional people.
That’s enough of a rant: Onto more positive things. My first couple of months in the role have been filled with member meetings and catching up on projects that needed completing.
It was especially good to attend the Taranaki meeting in August – the week prior to the COVID Level 4 lockdown. It was well attended, with some great speakers.
As I said on the night, we will do a lot more of these as soon as we get the all-clear to travel and gather, so look for invitations to take part.
On the way back to Auckland, NRC chairman John Baillie and I stopped off for the opening ceremony of the Awakino Bypass which, despite the rain, was a festive event. The volume of trucks going past the ceremony was testament to how vital that corridor is.
Speaking with some of the iwi delegates, there was an opportunity to answer questions about why good roads are so important: No viable alternative for any of the loads that passed by, other than the trucks that carted them, showed just how much the supply chain has changed post deregulation.
The questions asked highlighted the communication gap between our industry and the public. We have work to do to increase the awareness of how trucks fit into the supply chain. What seems obvious to us is not always obvious to others.
As always, contact the team at the first sign of an issue, as issues are like fires – a lot easier to put out the sooner the team with a hose arrives. Call 0800 686 777 or enquiries@natroad.co.nz to get in touch. T&D