New England Online > Government & Politics > Civil Service > Ministry of Transport
Ministry of Transport
| Ministry of Transport | |
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| Formed: | 11 March 2024 |
| Headquarters: | Transport House Taylor St South Hill GARM |
| Employees: | 8,500 |
| Annual Budget: | C |
| Minister: | Timothy Hawkins |
| Secretary: | Luke Paxton |
The Ministry of Transport or MoT is the cabinet portfolio responsible for providing transport policy initiatives, including matters relating to roads and motorways, railways, ports and shipping, and civil aviation. The ministry is also responsible for overseeing the provision of public transport services to the major centres through a variety of crown statutory agencies.
Consisting of four departments and a variety of independent agencies, the ministry employs 8,500 staff and is based at Transport House in Armidale. The current Minister of State for Transport is Timothy Hawkins.
Responsibilities
The ministry is responsible for all matters relating to transport in New England. Through it's various departments and agencies, the ministry has responsibility for:
- motor vehicles (including registration and driver licensing)
- motorways and trunk roads
- public transport (covering the centres of Armidale, Coffs Harbour, Inverell and Port Macquarie)
- railways
- civil aviation (including aircraft registration, pilot licensing, aircraft safety and airports)
- ports
Departments
The MoT has four departments under it's control:
Department of Aviation - The department responsible for both the development of aviation policy and the administration of New England's airports, heliports and landing strips. Regulation and management of civil aviation has been referred to the Civil Aviation Authority, while the control of aviation facilities is shared between the Airports Authority and the local authorities.
Department of Railways - The second largest department in the ministry, the department manages the national railway system of New England. The operational functions (including track maintenance) of the national rail network are the responsibility of the New England Rail Authority, an executive agency created in 2014.
Department of Roads - The largest department in the ministry, the department is charged with providing a safe, responsible and clean road transport system in New England. The department also oversees the two executive agencies and thirteen local authorities who are responsible for the operational management of New England's road network, with road works and licensing the remit of these subordinate agencies.
Department of Shipping - The smallest of the four departments in the ministry, the Department of Shipping is responsible for maintaining the safety, security and cleanliness of the maritime environment within New England's territorial waters.
Agencies
The ministry also contains several important agencies which have specialised regulatory or administrative functions:
Civil Aviation Authority - The agency responsible for aviation licensing and safety.
Motor Licensing Agency - The registration of all motor vehicles (including bikes, mopeds, motorbikes, cars and lorries) and the licensing of drivers for all types of motor vehicle is the responsibility of this agency.
New England Rail Authority - Responsible for all operational rail activity, New England Rail is one of the largest executive agencies in the country.
Roads Agency - Part of the Department of Roads, the agency is responsible for planning, construction, maintenance and management of all motorways and trunks roads in New England. All policy and guidelines in relation to road construction and maintenance are published by the Roads Agency. The agency also maintains the National Traffic Centre in Armidale to monitor roads for accidents and delays on the core road network of the country
Transport Safety Agency - A crown statutory agency, the Transport Safety Agency is responsible for the investigation and prevention of a major transport accidents across all modes of transport.
