Local government has been asked to shoulder much of the responsibility in New Zealand’s economic response to COVID-19. However this also creates opportunities for the sector to invest in local communities, be a catalyst for external investment and reshape itself to better deliver wellbeing outcomes. In this report the authors look into how local government can navigate the infrastructure challenges ahead including three waters reform. 

Recommendations

1. Utilising central government investment: this includes investments from the Provincial Growth Fund, the funding of several transportation projects through the New Zealand Upgrade Programme and the three waters reform, as well as direct COVID-19 stimulus through the ‘shovel ready’ infrastructure development initiative.
2. Embracing alliance models: recently, we have seen greater use of alliance models to deliver infrastructure in a more collaborative way while achieving speed, cost, environmental and health and safety benefits.
3. Focusing on governance: doing things differently will require a greater focus on governance, including project controls and risk management.