The Insider
Deep thinking
City Rail Link has rejected suggestions from MPs that it could have made more of the development opportunities, as it excavates a swathe of central Auckland. The transport and infrastructure committee noted the Albert St tunnel is very deep, with lots of space between the tunnels and the road above. They wondered why CRL had opted to fill this gap with scoria, instead of developing it as an underground carpark or other commercial opportunity. However, CRL said this was never part of the plan and would have been expensive and complicated. But it is thinking about the value of regenerated sites related to the project, the value of which could rise significantly. Ministers and the council have given a strong message that the land be developed with a “degree of pride and legacy”.
Ma¯ ori enterprise
Some MPs are less than impressed with NZ Trade and Enterprise’s attitude towards Ma¯ ori businesses. Out of the 5500 businesses it works with, 200 are Ma¯ ori businesses, and of the 700 firms that receive most of NZTE’s attention, 48 are Ma¯ ori businesses. Some MPs think this is on the low side, considering the rise of iwi-controlled exporters. NZTE admits there have historically been trust issues between Ma¯ ori and government agencies, which it has addressed by creating a dedicated Ma¯ ori liaison team. It has discovered Ma¯ ori businesses face broadly similar problems to non-Ma¯ ori ones, so NZTE is often providing similar advice, but presenting it in a different way. Despite this and other efforts, MPs note that not one of NZTE’s 30 trade commissioners is Ma¯ ori. NZTE says it would be happy to hire a Ma¯ ori commissioner, should one with the requisite skills apply.
Tracking costs
Budget 2019 may have been signed off, but officials are still working on what to do about KiwiRail. It continues to bleed money after a net loss before taxation of $235.9 million in 2017/18, compared to a $197.3m loss in 2016/17. A lot of this is because the accounting value of its assets must be written off each year. Meanwhile, its cash flows declined to the lowest level in five years: $19m compared to $46m in 2016/17. It has warned ministers it has no room to deal with unexpected events and the Government might have to come to its aid above and beyond commitments made until 2020. The Rail Review being undertaken by the Ministry of Transport is meant to find answers, but some officials are worried that the only answer will be to spend more money and open more lines.
One that got away
The state-owned New Zealand Venture Investment Fund has revealed that it had an opportunity five years ago to invest in Rocket Lab, but had been unable to as NZVIF could not co-invest directly in small, early-stage ventures. Rocket Lab sought offshore funding, which is where many of the potential capital gains will go. The fund has also looked at and rejected two medicinal cannabis ventures as it was not sure how ministers would react.
No rest for IRD
Easter is a time of relaxation for many, but not for Inland Revenue bosses as their systems close down for major changes. There is always the fear things could go wrong, and IRD has beefed up its call centre staff for when it reopens for business. The changes come at a difficult time, with services over the phone and through IRD’s website having deteriorated in 2017/18. In that year, IRD answered 78 per cent of calls, 8 percentage points less than the previous year. The percentage of calls answered within two minutes fell from 67 per cent in 2016/17 to 63.5 per cent
in 2017/18.
Clamping down
The Government has introduced a law proposing a maximum $100 fee to remove a wheel clamp, which will be popular with everyone except clampers and carpark owners. There are signs, though, that it was introduced in a bit of rush, as officials say they did not have time to consult with wheel clampers. As a result, the bill’s regulatory impact statement sheds little light on the murky world of clamping. Officials had little or no information on what fees are charged, who is charging them and whether they are unfair, aside from anecdotes. There is a “Code of Practice for Parking Enforcement on Private Land” but few signed up and it doesn’t seem to have fixed the problems: Wilson Parking (a signatory) was the ninth most complained about trader to the Commerce Commission for complaints related to the Fair Trading Act in 2016/2017.