Minister for Building & Construction Chris Penk: Unleashing a building infrastructure boom
The Public Works Act will undergo its most significant reform in nearly 50-years to help unleash an infrastructure boom. The bill will go to Parliament around the middle of 2025.
The reforms aim to remove barriers to make it faster and more affordable to build the homes Kiwis need. The changes will also create jobs through new projects and providing infrastructure to support better public services.
Complex regulations and inefficient processes are slowing down development, resulting in blown out budgets and added costs for taxpayers. The Public Works Act is the mechanism which empowers us to acquire land for new infrastructure, while ensuring that fair compensation is provided to landowners, however, it is no longer fit for purpose.
A 2024 review found unnecessary duplication in the system, issues with outdated negotiation processes and disjointed government agency practices. Currently, it takes up to a year, on average to acquire land.
If compulsory acquisition is required, the process generally takes up to two years, with at least another year tacked on if objections to the Environment Court are made.
Proposed changes include:
– Empowering government agencies to enter into acquisition agreements with landowners.
– Allowing government agencies to work together when acquiring land for connected public projects.
– Enabling the government and local authorities to acquire land when they need to move existing infrastructure (like powerlines or pipes) that are in the way of new public works.
– Clarifying the factors that the Environment Court can consider when reviewing objections to land acquisitions for public works, and removing overlap with the Resource Management Act.
– Requiring parties to try to resolve disputes over compensation through mediation or alternative dispute resolution before going to the Land Valuation Tribunal.
– Enabling Transpower, the State-Owned Enterprise managing New Zealand’s power grid, to use the Public Works Act to acquire land by agreement. This would streamline their process for building energy infrastructure.
