June 28, 2025

#Weekend News: More infrastructure needed but what about the Public Works Act?

Matthew Tukaki Posted On June 28, 2025

The Government has unveiled a draft 30-year national infrastructure plan aimed at tackling critical issues like hospital capacity, electricity supply, and disaster preparedness. The plan, led by Infrastructure Commission CEO Geoff Cooper, seeks to depoliticize infrastructure investment across electoral cycles. It proposes increasing annual capital expenditure from NZ$20 billion to over NZ$30 billion by the 2050s, funded via sustainable mechanisms and streamlined approvals. The final plan is expected by year-end, with parliamentary debate scheduled for early 2026. Meanwhile the public works act remains a bone of contention for many.

For more than a century, the Public Works Act has been used by the Crown to take land for roads, rail, military, and infrastructure. For Māori, this law has meant something far more painful: the steady erosion of their whenua (land), identity, and tino rangatiratanga (self-determination).

The Public Works Act was first introduced in the 1870s, giving the New Zealand government sweeping powers to compulsorily acquire land deemed necessary for “public good.” While it applied to all landowners, Māori land was disproportionately targeted, often without proper consultation, compensation, or the return of land when it was no longer needed.

In the decades that followed, thousands of hectares of Māori land were taken under various iterations of the Act, resulting in social and economic upheaval for many iwi and hapū.

Some examples include:

1. Ngāti Rangitihi – Tarawera River and Power Schemes
Land was acquired under the Act for hydroelectric schemes, causing the disconnection of Ngāti Rangitihi from their mahinga kai (food sources) and sacred waterways. The land was never returned.

2. Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei – Bastion Point
In one of the most infamous episodes, land at Takaparawhau was taken for defense purposes and housing development. The 1977–78 occupation and eventual forced eviction by police and army shocked the nation. In 1988, the land was finally returned after a long Waitangi Tribunal battle.

3. Waikato-Tainui – Rail and Road Networks
Significant blocks of fertile Waikato land were taken throughout the 20th century, often under urgency, leaving many Māori landowners without fair redress or the ability to maintain their traditional economic livelihoods.

The Public Works Act 1981, the current version of the legislation, still allows for the compulsory acquisition of land, although procedural safeguards have improved. However, for Māori, historic grievances remain unresolved. Many hapū never received the land back when it was no longer used for public works, despite provisions in law allowing its return.

The Waitangi Tribunal has repeatedly criticised the Crown for:

Failing to consult properly with Māori,
Taking more land than was required,
And failing to return land or offer fair compensation.

Many settlements since the 1990s include redress for land taken under the Public Works Act, but often at reduced values and with limited return of actual land. Calls for Reform: Iwi leaders and legal scholars have called for changes to the Act to include a higher threshold for compulsory acquisition, mandatory return clauses, and partnership models for infrastructure development. In 2023, the Māori Party introduced a member’s bill to strengthen protections for Māori land under the Act, but it did not progress beyond first reading.