Budgeting analysis
Cost-benefit analysis, often loathed by Ministers, serves the public interest. It puts an onus on officials to show a project can plausibly deliver tangible and intangible benefits which are large enough to justify costs. [...]
Transport
Caution needed on value capture
As tempting it may appear to tap into land value uplifts, we need to be cautious. The model can work – but we need to apply it only in the cases where it can work. [...]
Challenges stack up for super minister
There is no more challenging task than making New Zealand’s cities thrive in the global era of urbanisation. Quite appropriately, we now have a superminister to deal with it. [...]
Runway competition and entrepreneurship
It should not be difficult to decide on Wellington Airport's runway extension. Just treat it like any other business decision. [...]
Location, Location, Location
I am not from Auckland, nor can I claim to be an expert on port operations, but I cannot help but wonder whether instead of talking about an extension of the port we should be talking about an entirely different question: Is the Port of Auckland really in the right spot? [...]
Why ferries should not be a political issue
A privatised Interislander would face the pressures of the market without any obstacles or lifelines from politics. It would also spare us from politicians judging or prescribing what ought to be commercial decisions of Interislander’s management. [...]
Infrastructure quality more important than speed
New Zealand should have a debate about its motorways. But by only talking about speed limits, we are having it back to front. Before discussing speed, we need to talk about the quality of our transport infrastructure. [...]
Unanswered infrastructure prayers
This week produced more news about big infrastructure projects for Sydney. A government inquiry warned that without a second airport, Sydney could face severe flight disruptions within a decade. According to the transport minister, Anthony Albanese, Kingsford Smith Airport is already operating at capacity. [...]
First steps towards 21st century rail
Ideas@TheCentre – The CIS newsletter (Sydney), 30 October 2009 According to a Chinese proverb, every long journey begins with a first step. This holds true even for a [...]
On the Right Track: Why NSW Needs Business Class Rail
Apart from big, capital intensive infrastructure projects that NSW needs to accommodate its growing population, it also needs a fresh start when it comes to the quality of transport solutions, particularly for rail services. [...]