Fenz bosses grilled as fleet crisis inquiry returns to parliament

A lack of clear answers over what Fire and Emergency has done to save its ageing fleet saw one MP suggest the organisation had misled parliament.

The tension in select committee room four was palpable. Nearing the finish line of a four-month-long inquiry into the state of its firetruck fleet, Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) fronted the governance and administration committee under a considerable amount of heat. While firefighters across the country attended call-outs, Fenz struggled to assure MPs the ageing fleet could be relied upon as delays to upgrade it grow – leading one parliamentarian to ask what it would take for the entire board to resign.

The inquiry into Fenz’s fleet was called for by National MP and committee deputy chairperson Tim Costley in April, following “confusing and contradictory” messaging from the organisation. Fenz’s last two annual reviews, as well as a special hearing, had “raised serious questions” about the state of the fleet, Costley said in a statement. 

Costley said he had been provided with conflicting information as to whether any of the 30 firetrucks (also known as type three appliances) acquired to upgrade the organisation’s ageing fleet were in use. At a hearing in March, the MP for Ōtaki told officials he had “no confidence” that Fenz was aware of the operational matters of its fleet. The process of deploying these trucks from the UK first began in 2017, the same year Fenz was formally established, but has been waylaid by fixes and testing requirements. Not one of the trucks is on the road.

Fenz officials fronted the committee on Monday, with Kerry Gregory in the middle.

Members of the committee – among them chair and Labour MP Jan Tinetti, NZ First MP Andy Foster and Green MP Mike Davidson – were noticeably frustrated throughout Monday’s three-hour hearing. Questions around how much the organisation would spend to extract information from old IT systems, the costs of parking the vehicles, and whether response times have improved in the last year were left unanswered, with Fenz CEO Kerry Gregory, who came on board in 2022, repeatedly telling the committee these were problems “inherited”.

Fenz chair Raveen Jaduram – an ex-Watercare chief executive who only entered the role three weeks ago – told the committee his organisation’s procurement process had come as a surprise (“we’re just buying a truck, how hard can it be?”). He said he was assured that “overall”, the organisation was responding effectively to emergencies. However, the delay in upgrading the fleet was “not acceptable”. “The fact that we’re still dealing with these issues several years after the procurement began is disappointing for firefighters, for communities, for Fenz, and very concerning for me,” he said.

Costley criticised “reactionary decision-making” within Fenz’s leadership, which had seen the organisation add a procurement “roadmap” in 2025 on top of its reformed procurement system in 2022. The board heard that those in charge of the fleet – national manager Mike Moran and deputy chief executive Sarah Sinclair – had recently resigned. The latter had not received an exit package.

Photo: Justin Giovannetti

Committee member Foster told officials it was “disappointing” that Fenz couldn’t explain why the trajectory of its fleet replacement had fallen off. With the average firetruck’s life cycle spanning 20 to 25 years, Foster said Fenz should be replacing 10 of its 1,280-strong fleet yearly. “You’ve replaced 10 in the entire existence of Fenz operating,” Foster said. “That looks like you’re going backwards at a great rate of knots.”

Asked whether Fenz had found the right balance in spending, the committee heard that by 2035, the organisation expected to have 27% of its expenditure going towards its fleet (documents presented to the committee showed that only 1.8% of Fenz revenue over nine years had been spent on its fleet). But a larger slice of that funding – 53% – will be spent on property, an area where the organisation had “real challenges”, the committee heard. While the government contributes 1-3% of Fenz’s funding (around $10m annually), 95% of funding comes via a levy on insurance premiums, which collected $800m in 2024/25.

Later in the hearing, Foster was critical of Fenz defending the delay in the type three fleet upgrades by pointing to the rollout of smaller-size type one and two vehicles. “That’s kind of like the All Black turning up and saying, ‘we played one game well, and did a lousy job the next time’, and expect people to be satisfied with it,” Foster said.

Gregory told the committee he would be bringing on an independent adviser to assess Fenz’s processes. “I’d be surprised if they don’t come in and find other things we can improve on.” 

National MP Melissa Lee berated officials for failing to front up on the committee’s questions. She criticised Fenz’s decision to respond to the committee’s inquiry with the help of PR consultants and lawyers, which had cost the organisation $90,000. 

“How long have you been the CEO?” Lee asked Gregory. “The questions that the select committee has actually provided to you are operational in nature… The fact that you had to hire outside help, a PR company and law firm, to actually find answers for yourself – and paying exorbitant amounts of money [for it] – tells me you really need to think about how your organisation is operating.”

“I don’t disagree with you at all,” Gregory replied. “That is information we should have on hand, and that’s why we’re looking at the systems we have in place.”

Costley’s closing question of the hearing was scathing of the board’s performance. “The committee has been misinformed – possibly misled – including by the previous board chair,” Costley said. Information provided by Fenz had shown “absolutely no record” of the board asking the executive leadership team about the state of its fleet rollout, despite it being “one of the most high-profile issues” Fenz has dealt with.

“Like, what would it take for every other board member to resign?” asked Costley.

Tim Costley answers questions from The Spinoff.

It was a “profound” question, Jaduram mused. It was his job now to ensure that the firefighters the public sees are supported by an organisation which “actually works”, but Fenz had let that standard down, Jaduram admitted. “At this point in time, I think I can say no more but give you reassurance that I hope I can make a difference.”

Costley told The Spinoff on Tuesday he would put further questions in writing to Fenz. Asked whether he expected board members to resign, Costley said there were still “fundamental” questions Fenz needed to answer. “That is the only tool the public have to hold Fenz to account, and yet throughout this whole process – the last three years – with significant questions about these type three appliances, they have not once asked about it,” he said.

Costley declined to comment on whether he was satisfied with internal affairs minister Brooke van Velden’s handling of the organisation. “My biggest area of concern right now is the board and the leadership of Fenz,” Costley said.

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