WITT transport tutor honoured with top award

One of WITT’s most popular and longest-serving tutors has been awarded top honours by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport New Zealand (CILTNZ) for her work, including improving road safety by reducing stock effluent spillage from trucks.

Fiona Knight received the Sir BOB Owens Memorial Award – CILTNZ’s highest honour - for her outstanding contribution to the transport and logistics community.

A member of CILTNZ for over thirty years, she was praised for her impact in shaping the organisation in countless ways. She became a Fellow in 1997 and later made history as the first woman to chair a New Zealand Section.

At WITT Fiona has taught one of the most popular courses offered through NZIHT (New Zealand Institute of Highway Technology) programmes. Titled Understanding NZ3910:2023 – the ‘new’ Conditions of Contract, it covers contract types, obligations, liabilities, disputes and more regarding engineering, construction and roading projects.

Jill Warner, head of NZIHT at WITT, said; “We were delighted to learn that Fiona has been presented with this prestigious award.”

“As one of NZIHT’s longest-serving short course presenters, she has delivered hundreds of highly successful courses nationwide. We extend our warmest congratulations to her on this outstanding and well-deserved achievement.”

Mentor and more

Speaking about the award, which was presented in November 2025, Fiona says she enjoys teaching conflict management and loves developing people skills within the framework of highly technical, complex contractual arrangements.

As a teacher, she’s motivated by imparting knowledge and skills that can change people’s lives. “It’s about making that difference so they can achieve their potential.”

In its award presentation CILT says Fiona “supported many early career professionals, helping them find confidence in a complex and fast-moving field. Her colleagues speak of her steady encouragement, her willingness to listen and the way she makes space for others to grow.”

Road safety – trucks to taxis

Among her career highlights, Fiona spoke about her role leading the National Stock Effluent Working Group in the 1990s to develop a code designed to make roads safer by reducing effluent spillage falling from trucks used to transport stock.

The project involved consulting with farmers, truck drivers, transport agencies and meat processing operators to reduce the amount of animal effluent spilling onto the road during transportation of live animals from farms to meat works.

Effluent spill was a problem because it made roads slippery and dangerous for drivers, harmed the environment and was seen to undermine the country’s ‘clean, green’ image.

Her career is packed with numerous achievements. She’s managed major policy reforms in shipping and land transport, advised government agencies, and represented New Zealand at international transport conferences

Her pivotal role in transport reforms of the late 1980s oversaw the deregulation of the taxi industry.  “That ID card they still use with a personal ID and photo was invented by us as a security for passengers that the driver is a fit and proper person,” she says.

CILTNZ said that “Recognising Fiona with the Sir Bob Owens Memorial Award is not just fitting—it’s a celebration of everything she’s done to support, inspire, and sustain the logistics and transport community in New Zealand.”

Caption: Fiona Knight receiving her award from CILTNZ.