| 39 QUARRYING INDUSTRY Aggregate & Quarry Association T T Karen Phelps “It’s a good news story for Auckland as it has been importing a third of its aggregate and sand from outside the region. It won’t happen overnight, but these new quarries should help reduce delivered product prices as transport costs fall.” Recent changes to national policy instruments have brought a welcome boost for New Zealand’s quarrying and aggregate industry, with early signs of increased activity and economic improvement. Wayne Scott, CEO of the Aggregate & Quarry Association (AQA), says the amendments to national direction before Christmas have removed longstanding barriers that were preventing companies from lodging resource consents in some regions. “The changes to the National Policy Statements and National Environmental Standards were long overdue. Previous wording errors, particularly the term ‘aggregate extraction’, were holding up projects because the term wasn’t clearly defined. This led to uncertainty and prevented over 15 quarrying consents from proceeding. The issue has now been resolved, with the clearer, widely recognised term ‘quarrying activities’ replacing the ambiguous language.” Another significant change involves the Gateway Test, a measure that allows companies to seek exemptions under certain clauses of the National Policy Statements. “The test itself was sound,” explains Wayne, “but the original wording caused confusion and blocked applications.” With these amendments he says there is now consistency across both documents. The impact for the sector is already tangible. With previous barriers removed, more resource consents are being processed, opening the door to increased quarrying activity, particularly in areas where aggregates are in short supply. For example, in Auckland a significant quarry development was approved in 2024 for the first time in 15 years. In 2025 two more were approved there. All the quarries have been approved for 35 years “It’s a good news story for Auckland as it has been importing a third of its aggregate and sand from outside the region. It won’t happen overnight, but these new quarries should help reduce delivered product prices as transport costs fall. Aggregate prices can double over just 30 kilometres of travel.” Founded in 1969 as a spin-off from what is now Civil Contractors New Zealand, the AQA represents members on a broad range of industry, government, health and safety, and technical issues. In partnership with the Institute of Quarrying New Zealand, it hosts the annual QuarryNZ conference, which this year will be held in Invercargill in July. The event features industry awards and an exhibition of 120 booths — a record number— with around 25 per cent of exhibitors coming from Australia. “We’ve had unprecedented demand from booths and sponsorship already. Two thirds of exhibition space was sold out six months Welcome boost for quarrying activity before the event. This year’s conference is shaping up to be very strong and well attended.” Wayne stresses the industry’s importance for national growth, with AQA members producing over 48 million tonnes of aggregate, limestone, and allied products each year. “That’s about nine to ten tonnes — a truckload — for every New Zealander. That’s the third highest figure in the world per person due to New Zealand having 110,000kms of road for five million people. “We have a roading network the size of the UK and they have 70 million people. Our members also produce the aggregates which form the foundation and walls of almost every building across our nation. Quarries also supply allied raw materials such as limestone which help keep our farms productive.” Wayne says that while the sector mirrors broader economic trends, it avoids extreme volatility. The AQA represents members on a broad range of industry, government, health and safety, and technical issues. “We don’t experience the peaks and troughs of the general construction industry as our products are mainly used for roading. Volumes have been down in line with the economy, but not disastrously so.” Rural activity, particularly in the South Island, has also strengthened, with an uptick in demand over the past 12 months on the back of the thriving rural economy. “...we expect momentum to build through 2026” Proudly supporting Aggregate & Quarry Association 0800 800 611 stevenson.co.nz www.pro-manage.nz Feasibility → Business Case → Design Review → Procurement → Project Management → Operations Trusted. Practical. Results-Driven. • Quarry Development • Waste Infrastructure • Business Improvement AQA CEO Wayne Scott “Towards the end of last year, we also saw Auckland projects start to increase, and we expect momentum to build through 2026.”
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