New research shows New Zealand is building its infrastructure less efficiently than other countries.
A burst pipe in Mount Victoria, Wellington, in March 2021. (File photo). Photo: RNZ / Rachel Thomas
The Infrastructure Commission says New Zealand spends about the same amount as other wealthy nations, but others received more value from what they spent.
Infrastructure Commission director of economics Peter Nunns said the new research found New Zealand's efficiency rating of building infrastructure was in the bottom 10 percent of high-income countries.
"What we've tried to do in our draft 30-year infrastructure strategy, which we released in October, is to set out our views about all the different elements of a good infrastructure system and the changes that we might need to make in a range of areas."
They ranged from decision making, workforce planning, supply of construction materials, consenting processes for infrastructure like wind farms and use of technology.
"The call that we'd make is, if we want to get an efficiency we're going to have to look at a whole bunch of small and big fixes in a whole bunch of different areas, some of which we've tried to lay out a path to doing," Nunns said.
Recent research also published by the commission showed that consenting costs for infrastructure projects were increasing, and the availability of key materials like aggregates was increasingly constrained.
"This makes it difficult to deliver infrastructure efficiently. We need to address these types of systemic issues to get good value from infrastructure investment.
"Successive governments have invested in infrastructure, but they could have got more from what they spent. To do better, we need to better understand cost performance and look for areas we can improve."
