From the Chair
We have had a couple of positive developments since our last newsletter.
Firstly, we have received word that the Minister has signed off the revised Code, which now allows us to start promoting the new Code to members and stakeholders. Details of the programme appear elsewhere in the newsletter.
Secondly, we were pleased to have Peter Silcock, the new CE of Civil Contractors New Zealand (CCNZ), attend our last Board meeting. Peter stressed the importance of our two organisations working closely together on issues of mutual importance, including the promotion of the Code. This positive relationship between NZUAG and CCNZ can only benefit our industry.
Finally, to make it easier for members to contact me, I now have a new email address: chair@nzuag.org.nz
I hope you find the information in this newsletter useful. We are always keen to hear your feedback, including ideas on how we can improve.
I hope to see as many of you as possible at the NZUAG AGM in Auckland on 25 November.
Regards,
Paul Swain
Chair, NZUAG
Board Update
The Board met on 19 August in Wellington, with discussion based around the following items:
External Agency Presentation: A feature of recent Board meetings has been the invitation to an external agency with linkages to NZUAG to present to the Board on their activities. This Board meeting Civil Contracting NZ’s (CCNZ) recently appointed CEO Peter Silcock and Technical Manager Alan Stevens attended and explained the scope of CCNZ’s activities and explored with the Board ways in which both organisations could better work together for the benefit of the whole of the infrastructure industry.
CCNZ is a recent merger of the Contractors Federation and Roading NZ and has around 400 full and 200 associate members. It has a strong branch structure and a particular focus around training and technical support for its members. The focus is on collaboration towards meeting joint industry objectives. Alan provided an update on CCNZ’s current work programme, some of which involves close liaison with NZTA.
Revised Code: The Board was informed that the Code has been signed by the Minister of Infrastructure. See below for further details.
Working Groups: Working Groups activities since the last Board meeting have included:
- The Education Awareness and Training Working Group has continued work on a training programme, with an FRP document for training material provision having been created. Eventual workshops will be run on a cost-recovery basis, starting after March 2016.
- The Code Compliance and Enforcement Working
Group has reviewed Code submissions relating to Compliance and Enforcement concerns, and have identified the desire for an external referee service as a common factor across a number of them. Options for meeting this, other than directly via the Board are being explored. The feasibility of developing a national register of Local and Special Conditions is also to be investigated further.
- The Constitutional Review Working Group presented a further revised set of rules for Board member review, with the intention of presenting these for approval at the November AGM.
- Work by the Website review Working Group is ongoing, with a new overall structure having been agreed to. Changes to implement this will occur over the next few months.
All the Working Groups continue with their activities, which are designed to enhance the standing of NZUAG and promote the importance of the Code as Industry best practice.
A number of wider issues were also discussed at the August Board meeting. All activities continue to operate within budget.
A reminder that minutes from each Board meeting are posted to the members-only area of the website once they have been approved at the subsequent Board meeting.
Code Review Signed of
Confirmation has finally been received that Ministers have signed off the revised Code which was submitted to them earlier this year. With the Code signed-off, details of how individual submissions were treated by the Code Review Committee, along with a track-change version of the Code have been prepared and are ready to be posted to the NZUAG website for member perusal. These will be posted to coincide with Treasury gazetting the Code update, tentatively scheduled for 10 September. A list of FAQ’s is also being developed to assist members in understanding the implications of Code revisions.
RIMS Conference 2016
The RIMS (Road Infrastructure Management Support) forum held in March this year was a great success. The second day’s Corridor Management stream created one of the few opportunities available to the industry, Corridor Managers and Utilities to get together and present ideas and products to the whole industry.
The RIMS organisers have commenced circulating a request for abstracts for the 2016 Forum, to be held at the Sir Howard Morrison Performing Arts Centre in Rotorua on 9-10 March. Complete details are available from the RIMS website: www.rims.org.nz
This is a tremendous chance to promote your great idea or process or share experiences you know will benefit the industry, so we look forward to hopefully seeing you there to continue the dialogue.
AGM Planning and Board Nominations
NZUAG Board membership is on a two year rotational basis, with half the Board coming up for re-election each year, in order to ensure continuity of institutional memory. This year the following sector representatives come up for re-election:
| Sector Representation |
Incumbent Organisation
LGNZ Auckland Transport
Central Government NZTA
Corridor Manager
RCA Forum Wellington City Council
Telecommunications Sector TCF
Gas Sector GANZ
5th Utility Slot Chorus
An email will be sent to all members in early October with specific time-line dates for the AGM.
Changes around the Board Table
RCA Forum Rep: Brett North, from Wellington City Council, was formally welcomed to the Board as the new representative of the Road Controlling Authorities (RCA) Forum. He will hold this position until the appointment term expires at the time of the AGM in November.
Board Contact List
The following table provides contact details for NZUAG Board members, should you have need to contact any of them.
Name Representation Email
Corridor Managers
Ian Cox Government Ian.cox@nzta.govt.nz
Roads
Brett North RCA Forum brett.north@wcc.govt.nz (LGNZ)
Phil LGNZ Phil.consedine@taurang
Consedine a.govt.nz
Barry Auckland Road barry.williams@auckland Williams corridor (LGNZ) transport.govt.nz
Greg Rail Corridor Greg.hackett@KiwiRail.c
Hackett o.nz
Utility Operators
Ross Electricity Sector Ross.malcolm@vector.co
Malcolm (ENA & EEA) .nz
Geoff Telecommunica Geoff.thorn@tcf.co.nz Thorn tions Sector
Steve 5th Utility steve.gleadell@chorus.c Gleadell Operator slot o.nz
Dylan Stuijt Water Sector dylans@hdc.govt.nz
Peter Gas Sector peter@lpga.org.nz
Gilbert
Board Support
Paul Swain Independent chair@nzuag.org.nz Chair
Colin Lewis Administrator info@nzuag.org.nz
Future Board Meetings
The Board meets on a quarterly cycle, with the next meeting to be held on Wednesday 25 November at Vector’s Offices in Auckland. This will be immediately preceded by the AGM.
The final Board meeting for this financial year will be held on 17 February 2016 in Wellington. Further details on this meeting will be included in the next edition of NZUAG News.