New Zealand has a widely acknowledged infrastructure deficit, which is holding us back socially, economically and environmentally, Land Information Minister Chris Penk said.

“If we want to improve our productivity and lift our standard of living, we need to fix our pipes, increase the capacity of our schools and hospitals and build more houses, roads and renewable energy sources."

Penk said to help achieve this the Government are reviewing the Public Works Act, which is a fundamental piece of legislation that allows the Government to acquire land for critical public infrastructure.

“Having not been substantially amended since 1988, the Act is no longer fit-for-purpose, and it is time to make changes to improve its fairness and efficiency," Penk said.

“An independent expert advisory panel has carried out a targeted review and identified instances where the Act lacks clarity and commonsense.

“For example, all infrastructure projects that use the Act must meet a high threshold of being of ‘national and regional significance’.:

Penk said while a high threshold is important for protecting private property rights, there are many worthy and necessary projects that are vital for a particular region or community but may not be nationally significant.

“Similarly, building large-scale modern infrastructure often creates a knock-on effect where existing infrastructure must be upgraded or moved to accommodate the new project. For example, a new state highway often requires new regional roads to connect to it. Or widening a road may mean moving power pylons," Penk said.

“This necessitates working across government agencies at both a central and regional level and acquiring land for direct and indirect purposes, which the current Act poorly enables.

“If we can make it simpler to acquire land for critical projects, then we reduce the likelihood of budget blow-outs and delays and can get on with growing our economy and delivering the public services Kiwis deserve."

Penk said he is looking forward to considering the review’s findings and recommendations in more detail and expect to announce policy decisions about changes to the Act by the end of the year, with a view of the Public Works Act Amendment Bill being introduced to Parliament in mid-2025.

Key poiints:

• Cabinet agreed to initiate a review of the Public Works Act 1981 in June this year.
• The Expert Advisory Panel was appointed by the Chief Executive of Land Information New Zealand, the agency responsible for administering the Public Works Act.
• The public will have an opportunity to provide feedback during the select committee process.