Construction Industry to Tackle Key Election Issue

New Zealand’s building and construction industry will come together in August, at the “all-of-industry”Constructive forum, tackling one of New Zealand’s key political issues just six weeks out from the General Election.

The Constructive Forum, launched last year by the Registered Master Builders Association (RMBA), will focus on collaboration and transformation in the sector, to position the industry better to respond meaningfully to New Zealand’s building and construction needs. This is no more evident than in the debate on housing affordability.

“It is important we understand that the issues we are facing here in New Zealand are in fact global issues,” says David Kelly, Chief Executive, RMBA.

“Across the world we are seeing rapid population growth in urban areas which is putting pressure on housing and infrastructure. As an industry, we have also been very slow to transform and embrace the latest technological opportunities. This year’s Forum brings the sector together to discuss these issues and learnings from overseas which can be applied here to help us respond more quickly.

“We need to discuss how New Zealand and the sector can take advantage of the breadth of opportunities that are sweeping across the industry globally. These include pre-fabrication, modularization, automated building techniques, Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) and Business Information Modelling (BIM). These are gaining in popularity both in New Zealand and globally as organisations realise they can help solve many of the industry’s challenges,” says Kelly.

Constructive will provide the opportunity for the wider industry to collaborate with Government and leaders from New Zealand’s major construction, architectural, engineering and property development firms.

“The industry’s future success, both in New Zealand and globally, relies heavily on effective collaboration among all stakeholders,” says Kelly. “Our transformation is reliant on measures taken by individual businesses as well as the sector working together. It also requires action from Government, both in its role as a regulator and major project owner.

“Last year’s Forum identified and built consensus around the key priority issues of certainty, capacity, quality and timeliness of building. We have made progress across each of these areas, and are excited to pick up the conversation with all stakeholders,” says Kelly.

The Constructive forum takes place at the Langham Hotel in Auckland from 2-4 August. There will be a number of informative and interactive panel discussions on topical issues within the industry, and a series of site visits/tours. Various industry leaders including BRANZ Chief Executive Chelydra Percy will be attending the forum. Speakers will be announced in the coming weeks.

Registrations can be made via this link. For more information, visit http://constructive.org.nz/.

ENDS

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