‘Speed camera capital’: Backlash over cameras despite signs they are working

Wednesday, 10 June 2026

The AA says speed cameras reduce crashes but authorities must better explain their placement and purpose to local communities.

However, Franklin Local Board member Gary Holmes says Waiuku is New Zealand's speed camera capital, claiming more than $3.5m in fines “without serious harm improvement”.

Waiuku will have eight speed cameras by month's end, including two new point-to-point camera sets on Glenbrook Rd.

Speed cameras are an effective road safety tool, the AA says, but authorities need to do a better job of explaining to communities why they are needed and why they’re located in specific areas.

“They also need to detail what else is being done for road safety with things like improving the state of a road,” says AA spokesman Dylan Thomsen.

He said AA research showed cameras were effective in Waiuku, the south Auckland suburb Franklin local board member Gary Holmes had dubbed New Zealand’s speed camera capital.

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In 2023, five fixed cameras produced an average of 1308 tickets per month, the AA said, and that had dropped 37% to 818 a month in 2025.

“It’s been well proven that speed cameras have a crash-reducing effect so they are a good tool, but they are a tool that should be used in the right place and for the right benefit, and in a way that the community understands,” Thomsen said.

He said concerns in Waiuku around the number of cameras and their purpose were valid.

“It illustrates how the authorities have to take communities with them. They should be able to say why there are cameras, and why those cameras are in those locations. That is totally reasonable.

“They should be doing a better job of explaining that right now [in Waiuku].”

His comments come after Holmes complained that cameras in his area were more for revenue-gathering than safety.

“Over $3.5 million in fines. No improvement in serious harm. And NZTA is adding more cameras,” Holmes said.

Waiuku will have eight speed cameras by the end of the month with two sets of point-to-point cameras on Glenbrook Rd in action from June 23. There were five fixed cameras already in the area, one is being repurposed, leaving eight.

Wellington and Dunedin each have one set of point-to-point cameras, which are either planned or under construction and not yet operational.

Located at two points on the road, the average speed cameras record when each one is passed and calculate a vehicle’s time travelling between them.

Holmes said eight speed cameras in an area the size of Waiuku was excessive and disproportionate on a population basis compared to other parts of New Zealand.

He also claimed the community did not understand why there were so many cameras in the area and that NZTA had failed to provide a reason.

“It’s almost like we’re a testing ground or guinea pigs or something. Waiuku deserves better than being New Zealand’s speed camera capital,” Holmes said.

“When I asked NZTA through a formal request to produce the business case justifying this concentration, they couldn't. No site-specific business case exists. No comparative analysis of cameras versus road maintenance has ever been done.

“And the crash data tells its own story: deaths and serious injuries on these roads have not fallen since cameras were introduced. The DSI total went from 15 in the five years before cameras to 17 in the five years after.”

NZTA said cameras were placed at locations “where evidence shows people have been or are more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a crash, which is the case in this catchment area”.

“Average speed safety cameras [point to point] are the most effective camera type at reducing deaths and serious injuries,” an NZTA spokesperson said.

And the NZTA said the cameras were already having an impact.

“On Glenbrook-Waiuku and Waiuku Rd, a survey showed that 30% of vehicles were speeding prior to safety cameras being installed. That figure has now dropped to 1.4% based on the last 18 months of NZTA operations.”

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