GOVERNMENT Road freight association Transporting New Zealand is cautiously welcoming the establishment of a new Ministry of Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport (MCERT), but says it will need to be adequately resourced to deliver the Government's ambitious transport and infrastructure reform agenda. Transporting New Zealand Chief Executive Dom Kalasih says that with infrastructure, planning and transport reform currently spanning multiple agencies, taking a more unified approach makes sense. "As the national road freight association, Transporting New Zealand has been providing input on congestion pricing, the transition to universal electronic road user charges, and City and Regional Deals, just to name three." "Navigating across different agencies, officials and Ministers gives us a good sense of how the current structure isn't well set up to deliver effective reform." Kalasih says that the Government will have to take lessons from the establishment of MBIE in 2012, a merger of four government departments (Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Science and Innovation, Department of Labour, and Department of Building and Housing). "A 2024 Treasury review of MBIE noted that the agency's large size could ensure economies of scale in its provision of services, but cautioned that addition of work programmes and portfolios risked making MBIE unwieldy and fostered internal competition for policy resources. Avoiding similar risks for MCERT will require careful management." Kalasih says that as well as the big-ticket reforms, such as the transition to electronic road user charges and congestion pricing, the Ministry of Transport has important technical work to progress on a Transport Service License review and productivity enhancing land transport rule reform. "Transporting New Zealand will be offering whatever assistance we can while these organisational changes are worked through." ( Source )