Civil contracting future ‘bright', PM Christopher Luxon tells Tauranga conference
He said the national infrastructure pipeline showed planned future projects across central and local government, and the private sector, totalling $207b.
This was nearly $40,000 per person and $116,000 per household.
'For every $1b of infrastructure investment per year, that generates about 4500 jobs.'
He said as work got under way on these projects, there would be 'real jobs and real opportunities' for thousands of Kiwis, and added momentum for economic recovery.
'We have turned the corner and the future for civil construction in New Zealand is bright.'
Luxon said this was great news for the civil construction sector.
'We need the work to get done. We need action, we need shovels in the ground.'
He did not give details of the five Tauranga projects when asked by the Bay of Plenty Times after his speech and said the Government would talk about these 'in due course'.
He said a number of projects in Bay of Plenty were 'on the fast track'.
Twelve Bay of Plenty projects have been listed to follow the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024 process.
Bay of Plenty MP Tom Rutherford (left), Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the Civil Contractors Conference. Photo / Kaitlyn Morrell
Luxon said growth problems had been challenging for Tauranga.
'It's a region that should do exceptionally well with a Government that wants to streamline the resource management process and get fast-track projects up and running.'
Tauranga was a growing economic powerhouse for New Zealand.
'That growth needs to have quality, modern and reliable infrastructure around it as well.'
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced at the conference that half a billion dollars worth of local government projects will be under way this year, including five in Tauranga. Photos / Kaitlyn Morrell
Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale addressed the conference and said Tauranga continued to be one of the fastest-growing cities in the country.
He said a well-formed regional deal should be a game-changer, not just for the Bay of Plenty but as a model for others across the country.
'We are investing heavily to keep pace with growth.'
He said the current long-term plan included $500m in annual capital expenditure for the next 10 years.
Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale is looking forward to faster, more efficient consenting for projects. Photo / Alisha Evans
'A significant proportion of this is dedicated to horizontal infrastructure.'
He was encouraged by the Government's work to reform the Resource Management Act (RMA).
'Faster, more efficient consenting is something we can all look forward to and it will help bring costs down.'
Developments in the Bay of Plenty included the Takatimu North Link, SH29 Tauriko-Ōmanawa Bridge and Te Tumu new housing area in Pāpāmoa East.
Drysdale said the SH29 project would unlock industrial land, enable4000 new homes in the medium-term and support about 3000 new jobs.
'Infrastructure is too expensive in this country and we need to find ways of delivering more for less.'
Civil Contractors New Zealand (CCNZ) president David Howard said the past year in the infrastructure industry had not been easy.
'I feel it's been a bit of a triple-whammy with central government cutting costs, new regulations coming in and councils rethinking their funding.'
He said he remained hopeful that CCNZ had worked hard to get in front of the right decision-makers to explain the industry's needs.
'It's not easy to get Government attention, but we've made progress.'
Kaitlyn Morrell is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has lived in the region for several years and studied journalism at Massey University.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
4 hours ago
- Scoop
NZ Reopens For Petroleum Exploration
Operators will be able to apply for new petroleum exploration permits as early as September following the third reading of the Crown Minerals Amendment Bill, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Bill removes the ban on oil and gas exploration beyond onshore Taranaki, better aligns decommissioning settings with international practice, establishes a new tier of permit to undertake small-scale non-commercial gold mining, and signals the Coalition Government's intent to reinvigorate investment in Crown-owned minerals. 'This Government is pragmatic about the vital role natural gas will play in our energy mix in the decades ahead and we have set a course for greater energy security backed by our own indigenous reserves,' Mr Jones says. 'The ill-fated exploration ban in 2018 has exacerbated shortages in our domestic gas supply by obliterating new investment in the exploration and development needed to meet our future gas needs. Reserves are also falling faster than anticipated. 'New Zealanders are bearing the brunt of this constrained gas supply, and energy security concerns are impacting investor sentiment. These factors are taking a toll on our economic growth and prosperity. 'We are seeing businesses in the regions closing as a result with Kiwis losing their jobs, and we're importing hundreds of tonnes of Indonesian coal to meet peak energy demand. 'This legislation is just one of many actions we are taking to get the right settings in place to resuscitate sector confidence, shore up energy supply and protect electricity affordability.' During the progression of the Bill, a gap was identified in the existing Crown Minerals Act that relates to liability for the costs of decommissioning petroleum infrastructure. In certain circumstances, parent companies of permit-holders could sell their shares without remaining responsible for the costs of decommissioning old petroleum infrastructure, exposing the Crown to fiscal risk. 'Together with changes to the decommissioning regime that better balance regulatory burden and risk to give operators the clarity they need to invest in exploration and development wells, we have introduced ministerial discretion to assign liability for decommissioning costs to former permit-holders and others who have held interests in a permit,' Mr Jones says. 'We recognise that a one-size-fits-all approach for every scenario not only erodes investor confidence, it also doesn't allow us to best manage risk. 'I want those who benefited from having an interest in a petroleum permit to pay for decommissioning the relevant infrastructure. While financial securities remain at the core, the new approach to assigning liability will ensure the most appropriate person will remain responsible for costs if the current permit-holder cannot meet their obligations and financial securities are insufficient.' Most of the changes through the Bill will take effect immediately, while others will require staged implementation and secondary legislation. All changes will be operational by the end of September 2025.
Scoop
6 hours ago
- Scoop
ACT Attempts To Fix Broken Remuneration Disclosure Bill
'Last night ACT proposed a series of common-sense amendments to Labour MP Camilla Belich's broken Employment Relations (Employee Remuneration Disclosure) Amendment Bill, to make it more workable for businesses and employees entering into voluntary agreements with one another,' says ACT's Small Business spokesperson Laura McClure. 'The Bill, without clear rationale, inserts the Government into every employment agreement in the country – telling workers and employers that they are unable to freely come to mutually beneficial agreements that work for them. 'This raises serious privacy concerns, diminishes workplace flexibility, and poses a real risk to harmony in the workplace by encouraging resentment and comparison between colleagues. It also threatens commercially sensitive information and creates legal uncertainty for employers trying to do the right thing. 'ACT did not support the Bill, which undermines the freedom of consenting adults to form contracts, but my colleague Dr Parmjeet Parmar and I proposed practical amendments to minimise the harm it would cause.' The changes ACT proposed included: Restricting disclosure rights to within the same workplace – so employees could only disclose their own remuneration to colleagues who work for the same organisation, not to competitors, journalists, or the wider public. Protecting employee privacy – by prohibiting an employee from disclosing another employee's pay without that person's express consent. Preventing bad-faith disclosures – by ensuring only disclosures made in good faith are protected, so that attempts to weaponise pay information to harm employers or other staff aren't shielded by law. Excluding performance-based pay – such as bonuses and commissions from the definition of 'remuneration', recognising that these are often highly individualised, sensitive, and commercially confidential. Delaying the Bill's commencement by 12 months – to give businesses and industry bodies time to understand the law, adapt policies, and educate their members. 'These amendments would have preserved a worker's ability to disclose their own pay while protecting the privacy of others and the ability of businesses to operate fairly and competitively. Labour, National and the Greens refused to support any of them," says McClure. 'ACT believes in freedom of contract, the right to privacy, and the value of trusting people to make their own arrangements. This Bill tramples on all three. New Zealanders deserve better than another law that treats adults like children and businesses like villains.'
RNZ News
7 hours ago
- RNZ News
Allegations Maori have been removed from Maori roll
Te Pati Maori said they have filed urgent proceedings in the High Court after allegations Maori have been removed or shifted off the Maori roll without their consent. A number of voters have posted online to say their electoral enrolment details have been altered or are not there at all. It comes on the eve of local election enrolment cutoff and ahead of sweeping electoral changes promised by the government. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
