David Farrar: Caution needed with Public Works Act review

The Herald reports:

A review of legislation that gives the Crown the power to take private land for public infrastructure projects like roads, schools and police stations has been completed.

The review could potentially lead to faster and simplified land acquisition processes.

Some caution is needed here. The RMA reforms are about allowing people who already own property to easier develop their own property.

The Public Works Act is about the ability of the Crown to take your property off you, without your consent.

It is what you call a necessary evil. Without it, no new roads could probably ever happen. But it is ripe for misuse, if it is made too easy.

“For example, all infrastructure projects that use the act must meet a high threshold of being of national and regional significance. While a high threshold is important for protecting private property rights, there are many worthy and necessary projects that are vital for a particular region or community but may not be nationally significant.

This sounds good in theory, but can you trust local government not to abuse it? The Wellington City Council is talking about using the Public Works Act to confiscate Johnsonville Mall off Stride Properties, purely because Stride won’t redevelop the mall. Using the PWA to try and blackmail a property owner into spending money that isn’t commercially sensible is reprehensible.

David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders.