Parliament is preparing to examine Fire and Emergency New Zealand’s (FENZ) emergency response fleet, as the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) steps up its campaign for a broader independent inquiry into the organisation’s funding, governance, and operational priorities. The issue is of particular interest to insurers and intermediaries because FENZ is largely funded through insurance‑based levies.
The Governance and Administration Select Committee has agreed to hold an inquiry into the FENZ fleet after representations from National MP Tim Costley and Green MP Mike Davidson. The committee has yet to publish its terms of reference, but the process is expected to centre on the age, reliability, and distribution of key appliances, including aerial and specialist units. The NZPFU has told MPs that FENZ’s management of the fleet has created risks for communities and firefighters, pointing to gaps in aerial capability in major centres and breakdowns involving older appliances. The union has highlighted Auckland in particular, arguing that the city now has fewer aerial appliances than it did several decades ago and that some appliances are spending more time out of service for repairs.
FENZ, which was formed in 2017 through the amalgamation of 40 local fire services, operates a national fleet of about 1,300 trucks across more than 600 stations. Since the merger, the organisation says 317 new appliances have entered operational service, with a further 20 trucks currently being prepared for use and around 60 more on order. Deputy National Commander Megan Stiffler acknowledged the need to reduce fleet age but defended its overall status. “We’re not disputing the fact that the age of our fleet needs to be reduced, and that equipment does break down. However, overall, the fleet is well maintained, safe, certified, and legally compliant, with a strict schedule for regular maintenance and repairs,” Stiffler said.
While viewing the fleet inquiry as a step forward, the NZPFU is maintaining pressure for an independent review that would extend beyond appliances to examine how FENZ allocates its resources and manages levy income. “There needs to be independent scrutiny of FENZ’s management of its funding to ascertain whether it has been appropriately focused on the necessary critical areas of resourcing to provide emergency response, protect the public, and meet its obligations under the Fire and Emergency Act 2017,” the union said.
According to the NZPFU, FENZ’s revenue has more than doubled since its establishment, but the number of career firefighters and emergency communications staff has not increased at the same rate. The union claims there was an eight‑year period in which “not one new fire appliance had made it to career fire stations” and alleges that non‑operational support and management positions have more than doubled over the same timeframe.
“We believe there have been serious failures in the management and governance of FENZ with a lack of accountability for failed projects that have wasted tens of millions of dollars,” NZPFU national secretary Wattie Watson said, referring to initiatives including a discontinued payroll system, a uniform programme and organisational restructures. The union has launched a public petition “for our call for a public independent inquiry,” which it says is aimed at preventing what it describes as a downgrading of fire and emergency services.
FENZ is pushing back on the need for an additional review, saying it is already subject to several external oversight mechanisms. Stiffler said FENZ is audited by Audit New Zealand, reports directly to the Minister of Internal Affairs, appears before select committees, is monitored by the Department of Internal Affairs, and engages regularly with industry and community groups. She added that the organisation’s strategic plan is publicly available and addresses a number of matters raised by the NZPFU. “[FENZ] is focused on coming to a sustainable agreement with the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) for a new collective agreement. It’s disappointing its officials are focused on these distractions, mischaracterisations, and scaremongering,” Stiffler said. She also pointed to the need to balance workforce expectations and asset renewal against financial settings. “None of this takes away from the fact that our firefighters deserve recognition for the work they do. But we also have a responsibility to ensure the organisation remains sustainable so we can continue delivering the services our communities rely on,” she said.
Beyond the fleet, the NZPFU has identified staffing and control room resourcing as central concerns. The union says FENZ’s own data shows that current numbers of firefighters and 111 emergency communications centre dispatchers are not sufficient to guarantee minimum staffing at all times. It says an “agreement in principle” to increase resourcing is being wound back and that FENZ has described some firefighter staffing increases in Auckland as “unauthorised.”
The union also cites constraints on career recruit intakes and limited training access for some volunteer brigades as evidence of pressure on operational capability. On emergency communications, the NZPFU notes that FENZ operates three 111 centres nationally but argues that the agency “continues to understaff and overwork dispatchers,” and that temporary closures due to staffing shortages place additional strain on the remaining centres. The NZPFU has criticised changes to FENZ’s Future Operating Capability initiative, particularly the removal of the word “future” from the programme title. It says this reflects a focus on the current configuration of services rather than anticipated shifts in risk, including population growth, evolving industrial activity, and the increased frequency of extreme weather events.
The fleet and governance debate is unfolding alongside a prolonged collective bargaining process that insurance market participants are tracking because of potential implications for operating costs and service expectations funded through statutory levies. The FENZ-NZPFU collective agreement covering 2021-24 expired on June 30, 2024, after several rounds of facilitation through the Employment Relations Authority.
FENZ says its latest proposal would have delivered a 6.2% pay rise by November 2027, at a projected cost of $32.7 million through to July 2028. “We believe this represented a fair and sustainable offer and was fair when compared to other settlements that have been ratified across the public service,” Stiffler said. She added that the NZPFU “needs to consider their position in light of other settlements around the public sector and reflect a dose of reality in their pay claims.”
By FENZ’s calculations, the union’s current proposal is worth about $120 million over the same period, which the agency says equates, on an annualised basis, to around 10% of its wage and salary bill and roughly 5% of total annual operating expenditure. Watson said the union has advised the ERA it will not return to facilitation unless FENZ tables a revised offer, noting that the NZPFU lodged its last comprehensive proposal on January 26, 2026, and says FENZ has not submitted a new proposal since 2025. Under FENZ’s funding structure, about 95% of operating income comes from statutory levies on home, contents and motor insurance policies, with the balance provided by government and other sources. FENZ reports a mixed paid and volunteer workforce of approximately 14,900 people, operating a fleet of about 1,300 appliances from close to 600 stations, and responding to roughly 89,000 incidents per year.
