Local Government stories
The Business Improvement District levy will stay flat as Takapuna's board backs a new chair and incoming members for the year ahead.
New planning laws may still fail to fix housing shortages and infrastructure gaps unless councils and agencies get more capacity and funding.
Researchers are testing whether structural insulated panels can speed up builds, cut costs and meet New Zealand’s earthquake standards.
Such partnerships could help regions fund long-term projects, curb political meddling and ease New Zealand’s housing, transport and water strains.
New Zealand’s recovery could stall without fresh spending, as lawyers urge the next government to widen shovel-ready funding and speed reform.
Weak planning, funding and governance are leaving New Zealand unable to deliver the wider public outcomes it now says it wants.
Sweeping planning and infrastructure reforms could speed housing and business land supply, although transport pricing still awaits progress.
New Zealand's Hawkes Bay Regional Council partners with TechnologyOne for a significant digital transformation project.
Delayed project details are leaving construction firms unable to plan, risking job losses as ministers drip-feed a $2.6 billion infrastructure package.
Business leaders say the overhaul could speed up planning, cut costs and improve housing and infrastructure delivery, but local councils face uncertainty.
Transport industry groups say decades of stop-start planning could end if National’s $31 billion road and rail programme goes ahead.
With only a fifth of NZD$2.6 billion in promised projects released, contractors warn delays are already forcing layoffs and weakening confidence.
The proposed $31 billion programme would reshape commuting in the upper North Island, while relying on RMA repeal and borrowing powers.
Councils face pressure to back long-delayed water reforms as NZD $761 million in funding is tied to fixing ageing networks and service failures.
Construction firms warn that without tender dates, thousands of workers could be laid off despite USD $2.6 billion already allocated.
A shake-up of district health boards could ease long-standing failures, but the Government may lack the clout to deliver it.
The project will add 236 homes for older people and free up five hectares for future Government housing across Avondale and Blockhouse Bay.
Temporary changes to resource consenting could speed up Covid-19 recovery projects, though councils warn wider planning reforms must follow.
Construction jobs and council investment could restart quickly, as Auckland submits 73 infrastructure projects for the Government’s stimulus list.
Lockdown has forced Invercargill Central to push back its planned opening, complicating talks with Farmers and bank financing for the project.
