Nick Leggett: Infrastructure NZ CEO on the Ministry of Regulation's new tipline

Industry professionals feel it will take more than a tipline to uncover where the problems lie in infrastructure.  

The Ministry of Regulation has created a red tape tipline, where people can report their 'regulation horror stories'.  

Infrastructure New Zealand Chief Executive Nick Leggett says it's a good way to get the public involved.  

He told Mike Hosking regulation is adding massive cost to projects.  

Leggett says in projects under $200 thousand, almost a fifth of the cost is in consenting. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
We've got the launch today of a red tape tip line.
This is the Ministry of a Regulation. Seymour's idea wants
to hear from you. Apparently infrastructure in New Zealand, bosnic
Leggett is whether it's on that Nick morlling to you hello?
Is this a stunt?

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Well, it's going to be interesting to see what a
tip line uncovers, isn't it. I mean what worries me
is that we've got this sort of bureaucratic butt covering
that drives a lot of red tape and is that
hardwired into New Zealand's DNA now or can we do
something about it? So I think that David Seymour's Ministry

(00:35):
of Regulation is a is a good aim, but it's
going to take more than a tip line to actually
uncover where the problems are. You might pick up some trends,
it's a good way of involving the public, but actually
this is where you need politicians to lead and to act.
And I can tell you in the infrastructure sector that

(00:57):
you think about the cost of consenting And there'll be
lots of people listening that have done in addition to
their house or tried to build a commercial premise, the
cost of consenting the time it takes for any amount
of work under two hundred thousand dollars. In the infrastructure
set that the costs are contending of sixteen percent of
the job, it's over thirty thousand dollars. That's that's the

(01:19):
sort of red tape that they know.

Speaker 1 (01:23):
But that's the problem that they know that, don't.

Speaker 2 (01:26):
They That's right, That's what I mean. It's about we
need there to be some action on this stuff. And
it just seems as though so much of red tape
and consenting costs are people trying to protect and de
risk themselves, whereas we've got to have a more permissive

(01:46):
system and us that on that doesn't compromise on our standards,
still really protects safety. Oh that's another one, Mike. You know,
think about the red cones you know on the street
that key we's love. I mean, the government have said
we want fewer red cones. Well, you know, I'm a
director of a company that contracts infrastructure work and public works.

(02:08):
I'm not going to take the risk of reducing red
cones unless there's a law that tells me I can
do that. So we do really have to demand like
it's great. It's a great sort of popular thing to say,
let's reduce cut through red tape, but somebody at the
end of the day has to hold the pen and
make sure that that happens, so keywis can get their
work done faster and we can be more productive of

(02:30):
a country.

Speaker 1 (02:31):
Very well, said Nick nick Leggett, who is the Infrastructure
New Zealand Boss. For more from The Mike Asking Breakfast,
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