Become a Member & Benefits

The AQA represents members on all manner of industry, government, health and safety, technical and other issues.

What being an AQA member brings

The AQA is continually focused on delivering outcomes that are important to you as AQA members and supporters.

We are your organisation, collectively funded by you, and our CEO Wayne Scott is answerable to the Board you elect. Wayne has been the Chief Executive since September 2018, sharing offices/resources with MinEx and New Zealand Minerals Council to the benefit of AQA members and enabling us to deliver on our strategy at modest costs.

Member discounts

Significant discounts are available on the member conference package to the annual AQA & IOQNZ QuarryNZ conference which also offers invaluable CPD hours.

Wayne is continuing to work at improving our industry’s health and safety in his joint role as MinEx CEO. Now well established, MinEx’s regional health and safety workshops provide CPD hours and all your staff will receive a member discount. Wayne also provides health and safety advice to AQA members.

AQA have partnered with New Zealand AI, providing our members discounts to AI webinars, as well as useful information on how AI can benefit the quarrying industry.

Access to templates / tools

Life-cycle assessment (LCA) tool: The AQA is licensed to use the Global Cement and Concrete Association tool, which has been pre-verified by EPD International. Any quarry company member wanting to find out the environmental or carbon footprint of their operation, can access the tool to produce an LCA. We have a generic template, but for a modest fee, we can produce the numbers for you; per tonne of product, along with a covering report. The AQA can provide an introduction to a third-party verifier, a necessary step if wishing to publish an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). For more information, contact our office.

Road Map for the Aotearoa New Zealand Quarry Sector: The AQA created this guidance piece which sets out the sector’s material environmental and social impacts, and identifies actions the sector can take, and is taking, to address those impacts. It also has points for government to consider in helping quarry operators meet their ESG objectives.

Quarry database: The AQA developed, with the help of GNS Science, an online national quarry database, showing active commercial quarries and historic quarries including names, spatial locations, and other details such as geology. This is useful to AQA members for resource planning purposes, it is also used by contractors, consultants and councils to locate aggregate supplies near to infrastructure projects. Our Technical Advisor Mike Chilton can help members further if they need a specific map or want to look at a target area.

Awards and competitions

MIMICO Environment & Community Award – this annual award recognises and celebrates the quarry industry’s care for the environment and community through a diverse range of projects undertaken by AQA members with a $3,000 prize and publicity.

We also have our nation-wide Rock Our Future school competition and we would like as many quarries as possible to get involved in supporting local schools to help educate future generations on what quarrying is and why it is important.

Member’s webpage

Our website includes your logo and a link to your website on the members page which demonstrates your membership to a well-respected organisation and we encourage members to network and discuss common issues.

Communications

With support from our Communications Manager Brendon Burns (a former MP), we have regular meetings with key government ministers and their officials to ensure they understand our sector’s issues and your concerns. We also have established links with fellow industry bodies including Civil Contractors NZ, ConcreteNZ, Building Industry Federation and InfrastructureNZ as well as working relationships with GNS Science and the Infrastructure Commission.

Brendon provides you with six editions of Aggregate News which is published in your free copy of Q&M magazine, and you will also receive our regular From the Quarry Face newsletter. Brendon is also available to you for advice on government, community engagement and media issues.

Technical

AQA Technical Adviser Mike Chilton is our lead on technical issues including proposed changes to pavement specifications, use of marginal aggregates, use of recycled products, etc. all of which the AQA has taken up on your behalf. Mike also manages enquiries from AQA members with particular technical issues.

Planning

Our Planning Committee provides quarry owners/operators with input into every council plan and government consultation process affecting quarries. We make submissions on behalf of the sector on each and every district and regional plan and can assist members with their own submissions if required.

Our Board has developed a business plan through to 2026 covering five key strategies:

1. 1. To provide sustainability advice for our members on managing the climate change, environmental and social impacts our activities have on iwi and the communities in which we operate.
   2. To provide planning advice for our members and to advise councils and government to ensure they are planning for future aggregate resources and protecting future and current aggregate resources from sterilisation.
   3. To improve the technical knowledge of New Zealand aggregates for our members and users of our products and assist members to attain best practice in complying with operational, environmental and regulatory requirements.
   4. Through engagement with MinEx, develop an industry view on health and safety matters and advise and assist our members with improved health and safety practices.
   5. Through engagement with IOQ and MITO, improve our industry’s competence through initiating, promoting and supporting industry training, and youth recruitment initiatives.

This strategy is reviewed at an annual Industry Leaders’ Forum to ensure we are meeting the needs of our members.

You can print the benefits of being an AQA Member here.