RMBA chief executive David Kelly provides an overview on a number of issues the RMBA is currently tackling — and the good progress being made.
The 2023 year is now well underway following a disruptive and uncertain start. Severe weather events, including Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland floods, have created significant stress for many people across the country.
Many of our members have also been impacted and/or are working hard to support the clean-up. The majority were able to get back to work quickly, but some have been more severely impacted.
We have been advocating to ensure these businesses receive the support they need, and providing information as we have it available.
A real benefit of our regional structure has been our ability to bring people together, including the council and other infrastructure and building providers, to help manage the local responses.
This approach will continue as we work through the necessary recovery discussions needed.
Conversations are quickly turning to consenting and the RMA reform. While people in these communities are looking for answers, these are complex issues, and they will take time.
Decisions regarding where and how we build in the future must be carefully considered by all stakeholders — the community, council, insurers, and our sector.
However, there are other issues from the consenting review and RMA reforms that can move more quickly.
Good progress made on consent changes
Master Builders firmly believe that consenting needs to be overhauled in New Zealand. In our submission to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s (MBIE’s) Review of the Building Consent System, we called for consenting authorities to be consolidated, with greater sanctions for under-performing councils.
The current 67 consenting authorities are too fragmented and should be consolidated to improve consistency. We also called for the MBIE to make better use of its regulatory powers to instruct BCAs.
We also noted the need for a system that recognises those businesses that have a reliable track record, and to limit the compliance burden accordingly.
Finally, we discussed the role of technology in streamlining the consenting approach.
We have had follow-up meetings with policymakers at the MBIE following our submission, and are pleased with the discussions and progress being made.
Our understanding is that a discussion paper will come out in the middle of the year on potential options for improving the system. We will continue to keep you updated on developments.
RMA reform — will it deliver the step-change required?
Master Builders has raised concerns regarding the RMA reform. Like most in the sector, we support the need for reform.
The current Act has not provided for appropriate environmental protection, and makes infrastructure development slow and overly complex.
However, we are concerned the proposed replacement will not create the step-change required. We do not want to wait for details to be worked through the courts to stifle development needed today.
Both the Natural and Built Environment Bill and Spatial Planning Bill need more detail on how councils will implement the regimes in practice, and require more local voices and expertise within the proposed planning and decision-making processes.
We are watching both bills closely, and will continue to advocate on your behalf at every available opportunity.
Our election priorities
A key focus for us is the build-up to the election, which is set for October 14. We are meeting with political leaders across parliament to share our insights into the issues and solutions needed for the sector, and to hear their views and priorities.
Master Builders has identified six critical policy areas where government and the sector can work better together to lift the sector’s productivity and performance and, through that, the national economy.
They are:
• Smoothing the boom-bust cycles that have beset the sector for the past 50 years.
• Addressing the housing challenge by ensuring the right houses are being built in the right places, a first principle issue accentuated by Cyclone Gabrielle.
• Managing the impacts of climate change.
• Sector workforce capability and capacity issues.
• Reforming consenting to lift productivity.
• Revamping procurement processes to deliver better taxpayer outcomes.
One of our priorities will be addressing the boom-bust cycle that has stifled our sector for the past five decades. The impacts are felt not only by us, but across the wider New Zealand economy.
Following the GFC, house building declined by more than 50%, contributing to the current housing crisis.
The sector also lost 25% of its workforce, taking seven years to recover to pre-GFC levels.
This cycle is unproductive and unsustainable, and we are advocating strongly to take action to limit the impact that the boom-bust cycle creates.
During this period, the Government must continue to prioritise its own building and infrastructure projects. We also believe there is a place for time-limited, counter-cyclical measures, including partial Government underwriting of key developments to maintain a steady construction pipeline.
These are similar measures to those used in Australia following the GFC, and which resulted in a much shallower recession there than experienced here.
We also believe the Apprenticeship Boost scheme should be extended to support companies to maintain their apprentices during this period of uncertainty.
We also require more flexible and responsive immigration settings to ensure we have the specialist skill sets needed for the complexity of New Zealand’s construction projects.
We are pleased to see that commercial construction continues to have a solid pipeline of work.
However, procurement is still an area of concern, and a major drain on productivity. This is an area where Government can lead, and we continue to advocate for Government to ensure policies are delivered at an agency level.
We are also calling for specialised procurement functions for some areas of infrastructure development to be established.
We are also working with Government to ensure there is greater clarity around the emissions reduction plan, including waste management. We are able to share much of the good work already underway across our sector.
We will continue to keep you posted regarding these conversations.
