Road cone hotline starts with a bang before reports plateau: 236 complaints received in four days

The Government’s road cone hotline has received 236 reports of excessive cones in its first four days, with the most coming from Auckland.

WorkSafe, the country’s health and safety regulator, which the Government told to shed its “safety-at-all-costs mentality”, launched the digital hotline on Tuesday.

“The hotline is part of a 12-month pilot, brought about by work health and safety reforms announced by the Government, to tackle over-compliance in temporary traffic management,” the agency said.

“The initiative aims to get those deploying cones to be more proportionate and balanced while maintaining worker and public safety.”

Minister for Workplace Relations Brooke van Velden's road cone hotline has received 236 reports of excessive cones in its first four days, with the most coming from Auckland. Photo / NZME

WorkSafe told the Herald it had referred a majority of the reports, 200 of them, to the appropriate road controlling authorities (RCA) in whose territory the report was made.

“We have a small amount we are still awaiting a response from the relevant RCA on after having contacted them,” a spokesman said.

WorkSafe received 98 reports of excess cones on the first day, Tuesday, and by the end of the next day the total had risen to 202.

As at 10.30am today, WorkSafe said it had received 236 reports, a further 34 since Wednesday.

WorkSafe also provided a regional breakdown of the reports, classifying them by the RCA, either a local council, council agency or the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA).

There were about 50 reports from Auckland Transport’s territory, making Auckland the hotspot for cone concerns.

Wellington City Council’s territory had the next highest number of reports, about 30, and the NZTA, which looks after the country’s state highway network, had around 25.

Christchurch City Council had the fourth highest number of reports, followed by Kāpiti Coast District Council, New Plymouth District and Western Bay of Plenty District.

WorkSafe said: “When we receive a report ... we use the information to identify which road controlling authority is responsible, contact them to assess whether there is excessive use of road cones, provide advice and work closely with them on joint responses”.

Minister for Workplace Relations Brooke van Velden, whose portfolio covers WorkSafe, said changes with the agency had begun with the launch of the online road cone hotline.

The minister has been approached for comment on the results.

Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers business, breaking news and local stories from Tāmaki Makaurau. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.

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