Legislation to bring about a fairer and faster system for securing land for public infrastructure projects has passed its first reading in Parliament today.
“The Public Works Act had not changed in half a century. A targeted review last year confirmed it lacks clarity and commonsense in several areas, which has resulted in complex regulations and inefficient processes for land acquisition,” Land Information Minister Chris Penk says.
“It can take years to secure the land needed for development. This is slowing down the delivery of the new schools, hospitals, roads, water, and power facilities that improve New Zealanders’ lives and support a productive economy.
“The Public Works Amendment Bill will accelerate infrastructure delivery while protecting landowners’ rights, raise compensation, improve disputes processes and make it easier for landowners and agencies to navigate the system.”
Reforms to the Public Works Act are significant. Key changes include:
- Incentive payments worth 10 percent of the land value, up to $100,000, for landowners who agree to sell before a Notice of Intention is issued.
- Updated home-loss and land-loss payments to recognise the disruption caused by acquisition, on top of land value and incentive payments:
- the home-loss base payment will increase from $35,000 to $50,000
- land-loss payments will increase from $250-$25,000 to $350-$35,000
- home-loss payments will extend to multiple homes on a property.
- Simpler acquisition processes including allowing government agencies and local authorities to work together to acquire land for connected public projects and enabling Transpower to bypass standard processes to acquire land directly.
- Clarifying factors the Environment Court can consider when reviewing objections to land acquisitions, with a renewed focus on individual property rights and reduced overlap with the Resource Management Act.
- Emergency provisions to support disaster recovery by allowing land acquisition after a state of emergency to support infrastructure restoration and community recovery.
- Stronger safeguards for Māori land and fairer compensation by correcting a legal discrepancy that undervalues Māori freehold land.
“Specific provisions to speed up the delivery of critical infrastructure projects passed in August. The additional amendments that passed first reading today will make sure the wider system is also fit-for-purpose into the future,” Mr Penk says.
“The Government is working hard to fix the basics and build a better future for New Zealand, and this modernised Public Works Act will play an important part in unleashing an infrastructure boom that creates jobs and grows the economy.
“I look forward to hearing the public feedback on this Bill, as it now heads to the Transport and Infrastructure Select Committee for consideration.”
Further detail on these proposed changes to the Public Works Act can be found in previous press releases on the Beehive website: