Critical supply chain disruptions and labour shortages have meant 150 desperately needed social housing units in Hastings won’t be completed until next year.
Exclusive figures revealed to 1 NEWS yesterday exposed how dire the woes faced by the building sector are, with some projects delayed until June 2022.
The documents released under the Official Information Act showed Housing Minister Megan Woods had been made aware of how severe the industry shortages had become.
Official advice to Woods had noted the supply issues are “becoming an increasing concern for the sector, with intelligence suggesting this is pushing up prices.”
Building expert, Professor John Tookey from AUT, told Breakfast that the severe shortages are “very disappointing to see but totally foreseeable.”
He argues the greater issue lies in the logistics of supply and demand rather than successive government promises.
“There is a flash of time between having an idea and operationalising the idea and that’s where we sit at the moment.”
Particularly when it comes to material shortages for the industry, Tookey said it’s been an ongoing problem that has continued to grow.
“We’ve been closing down timber mills year on year, concentrating single facilities and then we’re surprised we can’t flex early to uptake supply at a moment’s notice.”
Tookey told Breakfast the issues surrounding logistics lay at the forefront of the problems facing the construction industry, down to the stacks of empty shipping containers left to rust in local ports.
“If you think of yourself as a supplier to the New Zealand market, any container that you send down here is pretty much one-way traffic.
Documents released to 1 NEWS show the Housing Minister was warned about the issues.
“It goes and stays here because we’re not really exporters of large-scale volumes.”
Tookey says the industry’s failings can’t be pinned down on the arrival of Covid-19, with projects like KiwiBuild already in hot water before the pandemic began.
As to how to ease that pressure, there’s no quick fix but rather an extensive breakdown of how the industry functions.
“There are no easy solutions, no silver bullets, we’re looking down literally at another four to five years of continuous investment and capacity work.”
Gradual progress to expand the industry’s capacity is needed to make room for a “rethink” about managing its supply capabilities, he said.
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