Recommendations
The Minister for Economic Development recommends that the Committee:
Background
1. note that in October 2006, the Cabinet Business Committee (CBC):
1.1 approved in principle, subject to the further report in paragraph 1.2, the proposed policy framework described in the submission under CBC (06) 246, and the position paper ‘Utilities and the Road, Motorway and Rail Corridors', attached to the submission under CBC (06) 246, for reducing the costs and inefficiencies of utility access to the road, motorway and rail corridors, and enhancing the sustainable management and multi-use of transport corridors;
1.2 invited the Minister for Economic Development to continue to develop the policy framework to a level that will enable drafting instructions for amending legislation to be prepared, and to report to the Cabinet Economic Development Committee by 30 April 2007 [CBC Min (06) 17/27 refers];
2. note subsequent extensions to the report back were sought and were received from the Chair of EDC (30th September 2007 and 30th November 2007).
Changes to the policy framework
3. note that the following proposed amendments to the Telecommunications Act 2001 will have a cost implication for Transit New Zealand when road realignment requires asset relocation;
4. note that the following proposed amendments to the Electricity Act 1992, the Gas act 1992 and the Telecommunications Act 2001 will have a cost implication for local authorities if a condition of access to the road gives effect to creating additional increased amenity value;
5. agree that, as a result of the further work on the development of the policy framework agreed in October 2006 referred to in paragraph 1:
5.1 the proposal for an explicit governance role for local authorities with statutory responsibility to manage the sustainable multi-use of the transportation corridor will now involve the management of the transport corridor through a stakeholder-agreed and Minister-approved Code of practice;
5.2 the proposal for a dispute resolution process, incorporating mediation provisions before recourse to the District Court, to deal with disputes on conditions of access, becomes a mandatory requirement for a dispute resolution process to be set out in a stakeholder-agreed and Minister-approved Code of practice;
5.3 the proposal to make the definition of "road" in the Telecommunications Act consistent with the definition of road in the Electricity Act 1992 and the Gas Act 1992 will not be advanced because of insufficient evidence of problems due to the inconsistency; the reduction in existing rights of telecommunications operators; and the potential to constrain the responsive provision of telecommunications services to consumers;
5.4 enhanced utility access rights to the motorway and rail corridors will not be further advanced because of the potential to compromise safety objectives.
Legislative amendments to implement the policy framework
6. agree to the following legislative amendments to give effect to the policy framework:
6.1 that the cost allocation provision in the Telecommunications Act, which sets out how costs are to be allocated between parties, will be amended to be consistent with the Electricity and Gas Acts;
6.2 that the time period in the Telecommunications Act for response to the notification of an intention to access the road be amended to 15 working days, to be consistent with the Electricity and Gas Acts;
6.3 that the criteria for the setting of reasonable conditions for access to the road as set out under the Telecommunications Act be included in the Electricity and Gas Acts;
6.4 that the Electricity, Gas and Telecommunications Acts each be amended to include a requirement that any condition imposed for the purpose of increasing amenity value can only be imposed if the area in question has been clearly identified in the Long Term Council Community Plan, and that the costs of achieving the additional amenity will be subject to the causer - pays principle for cost provision;
6.5 that the Electricity, Gas and Telecommunications Acts each be amended to include the clarification that when a utility installs infrastructure in an area clearly identified in the Long Term Council Community Plan for future alteration or new construction, that it will be subject to the payment of costs to the local authority under the cost provisions of each utility's Act;
6.6 that the provision in the Electricity, Gas and Telecommunication Acts that enables parties whose asset's position is being altered by a third party to impose conditions on the third party be amended from ‘impose' to ‘advise';
6.7 that the Transit New Zealand Act 1989 and the Railways Act 2005 be amended to include a statutory time-frame of 30 working days for the consideration of access requests to motorway and rail corridors;
6.8 that the Telecommunications Act 2001, the Transit New Zealand Act 1989, and the Local Government Act 1974 be amended so that affected parties must be notified when telecommunications operators, Transit New Zealand and local authorities initiate significant works (not minor or emergency works);
6.9 that the Transit New Zealand Act 1989 and the Railways Act 2005 be amended to require Transit New Zealand and Ontrack respectively to publish utility evaluation criteria for utilities access to the motorway and the railway.
Stakeholder developed Code of practice
7. agree that the Minister for Economic Development, in consultation with the Minister of Transport and the Minister of Local Government, be empowered to approve and enforce the use of a stakeholder-developed Code of practice for access to the road, and to the motorway and rail corridor;
8. agree to provide regulation-making powers that require the Minister for Economic Development, in consultation with the Minister of Transport and the Minister of Local Government, to set up and administer an independent code of practice for access to the road, and to the motorway and rail corridor, if stakeholders cannot agree to establish a satisfactory mechanism on a voluntary basis and if this is considered to be the best way to improve the efficiency of utility access to the transport corridor while not compromising safety;
9. agree to the design and drafting details for the proposals in paragraphs 7 and 8, as set out in Appendix 1 of the paper;
Next steps
10. invite the Minister for Economic Development to issue drafting instructions to the Parliamentary Counsel Office to give effect to the above proposals, including the design details for the code of practice, as set out in Appendix 1 of the paper;
11. note that the Minister for Economic Development intends to publish the paper, and its associated Regulatory Impact Statement, on the Ministry of Economic Development's website;
12. note that the Minister for Economic Development, the Minister of Transport and the Minister of Local Government intend to make a joint press release to advise stakeholders and the public of the outcome of the review into the management of utility access to the transport corridors.
Hon Pete Hodgson
Minister for Economic Development
Date:___________________
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