23 Oct 2024
Engineering New Zealand Te Ao Rangahau recently met with Hon Chris Bishop, Minister of Infrastructure, to outline top-of-mind concerns in the infrastructure space, and how we might move forward.
We discussed concerns over the halt on many Government building and infrastructure projects, and what could be done to fix this. Commitment to planning and delivery, removing barriers such as special conditions and risk transfer to providers, and bringing engineers into procurement and decision-making processes earlier would help ensure quality outcomes.
Minister Bishop was receptive to our ideas and agreed to investigate government accountability mechanisms to give more certainty and bring work to market quicker. He was also interested to hear about opportunities to strengthen standards processes so they are applied consistently in practice.
New Zealand’s long-term shortage of engineers was discussed, and how the loss of engineers during the current work slowdown will increase the problem. We spoke about the work we do to help address this issue, including the Wonder Project that inspires young Kiwis with science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). He noted more could be done by the Government to help – and had ideas about the tertiary system that he planned to discuss with Minister Simmonds.
The Minister was keen to meet again in the new year.
