Meet one of our newest recruits, Mark Stockdale, a transport policy specialist and Fiat fanatic. We’re thrilled to have him join the Policy and Advocacy team where his professional experience, strategic insight, and enthusiasm for all things transport will be a real asset.
Mark has already become a familiar face in the media and a trusted voice in the sector, bringing a wealth of knowledge and genuine passion for the industry. But don’t just take our word for it – hear it from Mark himself:
My new job title is apt as I’ve been working in the transport policy field based in Wellington for around 30 years now. In fact, with this job I feel like I’ve come full circle, as my first job in this field was in the building next door, working for the Bus & Coach Association. That was my introduction to previously-unknown-to-me topics like RUC, the CVIU, VDAM and the Work Time and Logbooks Rule to name but a few.
Unsurprisingly, with these topics in common, we had a bit to do with what was then the RTF, and I well remember then CE Tony Friedlander (and later Ken Shirley), and would often attend stakeholder meetings with the LTSA (as it was then) with Kerry Arnold. Kerry was the font of all knowledge, and on more than one occasion whenever there was some sort of complex Rule consultation, I would phone him and ask “umm, what does this mean Kerry?”. Thanks to him, I learnt a lot about the technical intricacies of heavy vehicle rules and regulations.
After 9 years there I joined the AA working on broader policy issues including transport funding and infrastructure, whilst leading the AA’s policy on Land Transport Rules and anything vehicle and fuel related. In fact, you may remember me from such places as the TV news as I was the AA’s media spokesperson on fun topics like fuel prices and parking penalties. Whilst there, I lobbied for a review of the retail fuel sector which led to the Commerce Commission’s very first market study in 2019, and also lobbied for the eventual mandate to display all petrol grade prices on the roadside boards.
After 15 years there I moved to the Motor Industry Association (“after COVID”) which represents new vehicle importers, working both on policy and some operational matters. They had 3 sector groups, one being heavy vehicles, where allocating GVM, VDAM and alternative fuels were key topics.
So, if it’s not obvious by now, I’m passionate about transport, and this is the field I always want to work in. However, I’m not so good on the spanners, and with strengths in writing, analysis and communications, I seem to have gravitated to policy and advocacy roles – what I refer to as “Wellington-only jobs”. This new role ticked a lot of the boxes in my CV and is not dissimilar to what I did at the BCA, and I look forward to bringing my experience to support the heavy transport sector through drafting submissions, helping with comms, and engaging with members and stakeholders.
It’s no accident I’ve spent my career in transport as I’m also a life-long car enthusiast (my mum says my first words were “Mini” or “Vee-dub”). I also own a small collection of classic Fiats and previously raced a Fiat clubsport car at Manfeild. I’m President of the Fiat Owners Club and also volunteer my knowledge and time to support the classic car sector – recently helping lobby for the move to annual WoFs for light vehicles aged over 40. In my spare time, besides managing my own small ‘fleet’, my main hobby is making kitset model cars – I did say I was a car enthusiast!
