As Coromandel residents ask questions about when vital roading repairs might be completed, government spending on consultants amid a shortage of engineers intersects with the answer, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.
Government transport plan to focus on reconstruction and resilience
Yesterday, the government walked back aspects of the transport plan I covered in yesterday’s Bulletin. The Herald reported that emissions reduction would be a top priority for the new plan yesterday morning but not long after, transport minister Michael Wood said that transport priorities signed off by cabinet last year “will change in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle.” An “emergency-style” plan will now focus on the reconstruction of roads and bridges and building greater resilience in the transport network.
SH25A in the Coromandel could take more than a year to fix
Questions about when that reconstruction might be completed and who will undertake it, are top of mind for residents of the Coromandel. More rain closed SH25 over the weekend and SH25A remains closed with indications it could take more than a year to fix. Residents are asking for some certainty. SH25A is a main arterial route into the Coromandel and while one lane of SH25 has re-opened, it’s still closed to heavy commercial vehicles. Tairua Bus Company’s Steve Mosen suggests bringing “in Japanese or European engineers.”
Global shortage of engineers
It’s an understandable suggestion from Mosen whose bus company is taking “the long way round” as it transports 29 students to schools in the Coromandel every day. It does raise the issue of workforce capacity for all the repair and reconstruction we need to do though. In the initial assessment of State Highway 25A in February, Arezoo Rahimi, an expert in slope repair technology at the University of Auckland, indicated that some of the additional workforce capacity required to restore SH25A may have to be imported or developed quickly. There is a documented global shortage of engineers, including the kinds that design roads and undertake geo-technical assessments. New Zealand is no exception.
Engineering consulting firm recruiting for 35 roles with the word engineer in job title
In defending the government’s spending on consultants and contractors yesterday, prime minister Chris Hipkins cited Waka Kotahi as an example of a government department where that spending had increased because “that’s the nature of the industry.” Waka Kotahi’s list of prequalified contractors includes WSP New Zealand, an engineering consulting firm. It is currently recruiting for 35 roles with the word engineer in the job listing, some of them geo-technical or structural engineers. It’s possible to argue that in an age where expertise is a commodity and we’re dealing with labour shortages, consultants and highly paid contractors could simply be market forces at work.
