We are now entering another election cycle, with local government election voting starting this month (9 September to 11 October) and central government elections next year. It doesn’t seem that long ago that we were preparing for the 2023 election, but it’s timely to review what’s on the CCNZ ‘wish list’ for central and local elections, writes Alan Pollard, CCNZ, CEO.
The work of civil contractors underpins almost every electoral promise – without the work contractors do, very little else would be possible. And we are currently formulating the key messaging we want to convey to local and central political candidates. All of us have a role to play in advocating for a better and more commercially sustainable civil construction sector.
Under the leadership of CCNZ Communications and Advocacy Manager Fraser May, we have partnered with government engagement specialists, Awhi Group, to develop a set of resources and templates to use when communicating with local and central government politicians and officials.
This standard set of messaging ensures our expectations for incoming councils and government are clear and consistent regardless of region. Perhaps, unsurprisingly, these are focused on a clear pipeline of work with opportunities for contractors of all sizes, better entry and support for the civil construction workforce, and right-sizing regulations to reduce cost, improve efficiency, and keep the industry healthy and safe.
With local government, we have a number of expectations on the successful candidates. First, a close connection between clients and the civil contracting sector is vital. Some of the most productive and successful relationships are where clients have held regular market briefings with contractors, encouraging an open and honest environment for engagement. Ultimately, we are all after the same outcome – delivering the high-quality infrastructure that our communities deserve and need.
At the least, that means accurate forward works briefings. There must be a focus on giving more confidence to the market on the timing and scale of the programme of works, whether that is capital or maintenance works. Too often the conversion rate of planned investment to actual projects hitting the market is low.
It is in clients’ – and our industry’s – best interests to ensure a healthy and sustainable contractor market, where forward work opportunities are clear and well understood. Early and regular contractor engagement is key to delivering outcomes that are high quality, cost effective and fit for purpose.
Early contractor engagement has become more popular in the UK and Europe in recent times, due to the increasing complexity of infrastructure projects, pressure on budgets, and the need to deliver projects faster and more efficiently. This can ensure designs are fit for purpose, leading to improved risk management, better collaboration between clients, designers, and contractors, more cost certainty, and potentially faster project delivery.
Procurement processes across the country must improve, and we would like to see some commitment from Councils to upskill their teams in complex infrastructure investment practices. Lowest price doesn’t necessarily mean best value.
For central government, our primary expectation is that the ‘cancel culture’ that has characterised previous elections has to stop. We need more cross-party consensus, and the Infrastructure Commission’s pipeline of work highlights the fact that significant investment is needed in critical infrastructure that is long term, intergenerational infrastructure.
The issue of the length of a parliamentary or local authority term must be reconsidered, although that is a double-edged sword – it gives a competent government or council more time to implement its policies, but it could prolong the agony of an incompetent government or council. Equally, elections are often a time for politicians to grandstand on the difference they want to make for their communities.
Political parties, left and right, need to agree on planning for and funding projects that survive political cycles. They don’t have to agree on every last detail, but they should be able to agree on a core portfolio of investments that the market can have confidence in being delivered. Wouldn’t a joint announcement of a new infrastructure project or initiative be a refreshing change?
Bold moves to reform local government are needed from an incoming government. That could include removing the massive duplication that exists across the country with far too many local authorities for our small population base.
It is concerning to witness the inconsistent application of commercial disciplines and best practice across local authorities, with many different interpretations of the same rule, and a lack of accountability for the cost of local decisions and performance in each region.
It is just as disturbing to find that a number of central government agencies don’t even have an asset register – let alone a maintenance schedule. So, how are they supposed to have asset management plans in place to support capital and maintenance requirements.
Tax and ratepayers expect value for money, and I absolutely agree with that. But they also expect that those making the decisions on their behalf will have the right level of skill and experience. We often hear comments in the media about the low levels of productivity in the construction sector, but not all of the drivers of productivity and growth are under contractor control. We have long advocated that poor procurement and regulatory practices negatively impact productivity.
The Government should explore and secure alternative sources of funding for future infrastructure investment. Both our taxpayer base and ratepayer base are too small to generate the taxes and rates needed to fund critical infrastructure. User pays is inevitable so let’s get on and put those mechanisms in place.
We expect the removal of regulatory barriers and strengthening of access to government services to continue, whether they be resource management, the designation of construction fill sites, employment education, immigration barriers, access to training funding, and more.
That’s a rough summary of what’s on the wish list to see addressed in the upcoming elections. If you’d like a copy of our advocacy resources or have an issue that you’d like us to include on our wish list, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Parting words from Jeremy Sole- a final column