ACENZ Auckland Members Breakfast with Phil Goff

Its always valuable to get information direct from the horse's mouth rather than through the distorted media view. (Apparently according to the Herald and Newstalk its not 2018 it's already 2026 and we've all missed our targets. On the plus side Retirement beckons in a few years and I don't feel a day over *cough*). The Mayor was clear of the importance of improvement of Auckland's Infrastructure as his prime goal. Previous under-investment in infrastructure is clear (Public Transport, Housing, Rail Links, Harbour Crossing, Port relocation) and this has to continually re-communicated to justify funding (especially in the light of the media interest above). What's clear is that this funding is available in various forms (PPP, tax revenues, the dreaded fuel tax, crown infrastructure partners, etc etc) the political will and mandate is there if suitable schemes make a clear case for themselves. A similar tale was being told by Infrastructure New Zealand in the Build Expo last week. However in all of this rosy glow there's an issue. The construction industry has also suffered from decades of under-investment. The industry is at capacity now so who is going to build all these essential schemes required for the future of Auckland? It's disappointing that the hard discussion is not being had about the significant investment required to grow the industry. How we will grow the capabilities, competence and training to take advantage of the innovations and technologies required to grow the infrastructure to support the city rather than the petty discussions currently happening in the media?