Too little, too late for board to judge Public Works Bill

The Government’s consultation process for a bill designed to streamline land acquisition for critical infrastructure such as road and rail projects came in for criticism at a Rodney Local Board workshop on June 11.

Board members and staff agreed it was difficult to provide detailed feedback, as only a summary memo, rather than an in-depth report, had been provided, and that had arrived too late.

This meant that the Public Works (Critical Infrastructure) Amendment Bill was being discussed by the board the same day as it was due to have its feedback to Auckland Council’s policy and planning committee, and the day before council’s submission had to be made to government.

While members agreed key features such as extra payments to incentivise land acquisition agreements or to recognise landowners who’ve had land acquired or taken using the accelerated process seemed like a good idea, chair Brent Bailey said it was hard to know for sure without all the relevant information.

“The devil will be in the detail and the memo arrived so late that even staff haven’t had time to read and absorb it,” he said. “We haven’t received enough information.”

Michelle Carmichael expressed concern that the bill’s replacement of the right to object to the Environment Court with “a natural justice process allowing for written submissions to the acquiring authority” may not carry enough weight, but said, again, it was difficult to tell from the minimal information provided.

Members voted to support the streamlined acquisition process for critical infrastructure projects that include the Warkworth to Te Hana expressway. However, they expressed concern that the board had not received a report enabling them to give informed feedback and also that the proposed alternative to the Environment Court process may not consider full environmental impacts.