Years of FENZ failure laid bare by Select Committee Report
National MP Tim Costley says the Governance and Administration Select Committee’s report of the Inquiry into Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) lays bare years of failures within FENZ – including 30 new trucks bought in 2019 that are still not in use seven years later.
“The damning report details the inconsistent and incorrect answers, Board-level governance failures, and a lack of transparency around crucial procurement decisions coupled with no records from the time. This has led to aging and broken trucks, and years of delay for replacements,” Mr Costley says.
Mr Costley points to two key examples from the inquiry, relating to different types of fire trucks.
“30 new trucks were purchased in 2019, and none of them are in use seven years later. Aerial (ladder) appliances have also suffered significant delays. Despite a ‘final inspection’ in July 2025, they are still sitting with original manufacturers, not yet delivered to FENZ and far from being put into operational use.
“Both contracts are stuck in commercial disputes, with trucks withheld from FENZ while issues are resolved.
“Blaming today’s problems on the state of FENZ at its 2017 inception does not cut it. Many of today’s leaders held leadership roles in the Fire Service prior to 2017, and the state of the many fire appliances today is worse than it was nine years ago. FENZ have been going backwards, not forwards.
“New taxes will not fix FENZ. Funding has not been the issue, spending and delivery has been. FENZ needs to focus on consistently delivering new trucks into the fleet so every brigade has appliances within the expected age.
“It should not have taken an inquiry like this to bring these issues to light. We have seen misleading response rates, obfuscation over new appliances, and leaders telling the committee that there were processes and equipment were in place that simply were not. I have found the truth not through the answers given to the committee, but through endless hours spent trawling through submissions and speaking with firefighters from north of Auckland to the deep south.
“I promised in my maiden speech I would be a voice for those who don’t always get one in Parliament, and this inquiry is part of living up to that promise. Despite the challenges the inquiry found, I continue to be impressed by the quality of the men and women who serve in fire stations, both full-time and volunteer.”
