Julian Leys: Building Industry Federation CEO on the Government's new contract procurement rules

An expectation less red tape for Kiwi businesses bidding for Government contracts will benefit the economy.

The Finance Minister's slashing 71 requirements in the Government's procurement rule book down to 47 – including scrapping a company's requirement to pay their employees a living wage.

It's also introducing a new economic benefit test.

Building Industry Federation chief executive Julien Leys told Mike Hosking this will help growth.

He says we're going to see better deals, more work for local companies, and a move towards outcome driven decisions.

Leys says some of the current rules are very prescriptive, often creating a burden rather than focusing on what the company has to offer.

LISTEN ABOVE 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So good news for local companies. As the government changes
the rules around procurement for government contracts, the wider benefit
to New Zealand well now need to be considered as
opposed to the cheapest quote seventy one rules you currently
have that drops to forty seven for smaller projects. If
you are local and can deliver, you should get the
Work Building Industry Federation Boss Julian Lasers with US Julian,
morning to you.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Good morning Mike. You like it absolutely. I think you
know this is going to help economic growth and deliver
economous value rather than focusing on prescriptive criteria. So I
think we're going to see better deals, more work for
local companies and moving away from a compliance from procurement
to outcome driven decisions that really is going to prioritize

(00:42):
and Culand's economic health. So it's a great move.

Speaker 1 (00:45):
Good the seventy one rules down to forty seven? Are
they obvious ones that really didn't need to be there?
In other words, is the government taking the right room
to the right place.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
Yeah, look absolutely, you know it still leads forty seven.
We're not throwing out the baby with the bath order.
We're streamlinering forfurement hasn't been opated since twenty nineteen, so
it's about time. Some of these rules really are prescriptive.
You know, companies don't need to worry about requirement to
buy evs or buy office materials that are you know,

(01:17):
low wasaste necessarily they need to focus on.

Speaker 1 (01:19):
Now just explain Do explain that because most people won't
know what you're talking about. So part of the CUMIT process,
you go, I want to build this building, and they go, right,
how many evs you got? How many carbon neutral chairs
have you got? Et cetera. That's the sort of nonsense
you have to fill out.

Speaker 2 (01:31):
Right, Absolutely, there's a lot of red tape, and there
are these requirements that they are meant to put down
as part of their tent or their bids. But those
are things that really create a burden. And as I say,
don't sort of really focus on those important things that

(01:53):
those companies have the sort of odd of value of
things that they should be delivering for construction, not those
other things sort of achieve why aims around sustainability, for example.

Speaker 1 (02:03):
Right, what does worry me slightly building new non residential
government buildings to a five star standard? They no longer
have to be five star. What's wrong with five star?

Speaker 2 (02:13):
Yeah? Well, I think I think they're just saying look,
rather than you know, they still have to meet the code,
they still have to meet all the obvious criteria that
we already have for you know, a very high quality
built environment. But going to the nth degree to have
a five star rating probably is unnecessary. It's like what

(02:34):
they're looking at with the H one. It's let's let's
deliver what we need as part of our code and
to have safe, you know, quality warm homes, but we
don't need to go overboard.

Speaker 1 (02:45):
Okay, good stuff, Julian, appreciate your insight very much. Julian
lais who's with the Building Industry Federation. He's the boss there.
For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to
news talks that'd be from six am weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.