Viewpoint – Growth should pay for growth

Fast-track consenting has a legitimate role. It can help get nationally significant infrastructure and other worthwhile projects underway more quickly.

But fast-track should not become a way for Wellington to decide where Auckland grows and leave Auckland ratepayers to foot the bill.

The Government has now acknowledged a major problem with the system. It is changing the law so councils can amend their development-contribution policies to recover eligible infrastructure costs created by fast-track developments.

That is a step in the right direction, but it comes too late and fixes only one glaring error.

Growth should pay for growth. Existing ratepayers should never be expected to subsidise developers who choose to build large new communities in rural areas where the necessary infrastructure and services have not been planned or funded.

The new change will allow councils to respond when a fast-track development proceeds ahead of their infrastructure planning. It also provides for costs that fall across council boundaries.

However, the new rules will not apply to projects that have already been approved. They will also exclude projects where an applicant has received a draft decision before the legislation takes effect.

That leaves Auckland ratepayers exposed to costs generated by developments already well advanced through the fast-track process.

It also addresses only part of the problem.

Development contributions can recover eligible capital costs for infrastructure. They do not solve the long-term cost of providing council services to thousands of homes in communities that Auckland did not plan for.

Those communities will still create demand for public transport and other council services. There will also be costs associated with illegal dumping, noise control and animal management. Our estimates put the ongoing cost of unplanned growth in the billions of dollars, not millions.

If developments are approved outside the areas where Auckland has planned and funded growth, it cannot simply expect Auckland ratepayers to meet those costs. Auckland Council is therefore considering all options available to protect them, including what level of council services can realistically be provided to these developments.

There are also serious questions about whether fast-track is living up to its name. Some greenfield developments have been given eight years to start, which is longer than an ordinary resource consent.

The Delmore development decision is what happens when common sense goes out the window: more than 1200 homes fast-tracked, no connection to Watercare’s wastewater network, and a possible convoy of tankers heading north to Whangārei.

Also, some applicants do not appear to have the resources to deliver projects of this scale and may simply be hoping to find a buyer during that period. Approvals should be non-transferable so they go to applicants capable of delivering the project, rather than becoming something that can be obtained and sold.

The Government also appears to believe Auckland lacks development land. Major developers will tell you there are years of opportunities already available without extending the city further into rural areas.

Getting growth wrong is an expensive and lasting mistake. It creates demands for new roads, pipes, public transport and community services while making it harder to build the connected, efficient, global city Auckland needs to become.

The Government has fixed one mistake. It now needs to address the much larger problem it has created.