Public Works Act overhaul

The Public Works Act will undergo its most significant reform in nearly 50 -years to help unleash an infrastructure boom.

Extensive policy changes will be announced over the coming weeks.

The first tranche will:

• Delegate land acquisition responsibility: Empower government agencies like the New Zealand Transport Agency, which regularly use the Public Works Act, to enter into acquisition agreements with landowners. The Minister for Land Information will remain responsible for compulsory acquisition by the Crown.

• Enable collaboration between agencies: Allow government agencies to work together when acquiring land for connected public projects. Instead of each agency acquiring land separately, they will be able to coordinate the acquisition of land as needed to make the process smoother.

• Enable relocation of infrastructure: Allow both 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.

• Refine the role of the Environment Court: Clarify the factors that the Environment Court can consider when reviewing objections to land acquisitions for public works, with a renewed focus on individual property rights, removing overlap with the Resource Management Act.

• Require mediation for compensation disputes: Require that parties try to resolve disputes over compensation through mediation or alternative dispute resolution before going to the Land Valuation Tribunal, to avoid lengthy court proceedings where possible.

• Allow Transpower to bypass standard processes: Enable 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.

The public will be able to provide feedback during the select committee process.