David Farrar: Useful Public Works Act reforms

The Public Works Act is a necessary evil. In theory no one should ever be forced to sell their land against their will, but then we would never be able to construct essential infrastructure.

So any changes to the PWA should be critically examined. I’m horrified that one local Labour City Councillor is campaigning to use the PWA to take over a shopping mall.

The changes announced by the Government are:

• Incentive payments: To encourage early agreements, landowners who voluntarily sell their land before a Notice of Intention is issued will receive an additional premium payment equal to 15 percent of their land’s value, with a maximum payment of $150,000.

• Recognition payments: All landowners whose land is acquired under the accelerated process will receive a five percent recognition payment, acknowledging the critical role their land plays in delivering essential infrastructure, with a maximum payment of $92,000.

• Replacement objections process: Landowners who object to land acquisition for critical infrastructure projects will no longer go through the Environment Court. They will instead submit their objections directly to the relevant decision-maker, either the Minister for Land Information or the local authority, for faster resolution.

The first two looks very sound. Additional compensation is good.

I am uneasy about the third one. The fact we have a City Councillor campaigning to use the PWA against a shopping mall owner makes me nervous about making them the decision maker.

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.