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Public Works Amendment Bill

This bill amends the Public Works Act 1981 to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and clarity of land acquisition, objections, and compensation functions in the Act.

This bill has been accorded urgency in the House. First detected 15 September 2026, 4:26am UTC.

Member in charge: Hon Mike Butterick · Government bill · No. 230-2 · urgency accorded 15 Sep 2026 (the remaining stages of the)
Bill on parliament.nz → RSS

Want a say? This bill is still moving

Urgency compresses the timetable, not the politics. Until the third reading, the committee of the whole House can still amend the bill — changes are moved right up to the final vote. The channels that operate at this speed:

  • Contact the member in charge — Hon Mike Butterick — whose office decides what amendments are put, and your electorate MP. Members’ offices monitor correspondence while the House sits; a specific, clause-level point travels furthest.
  • Contact the opposition spokesperson for this portfolio — they speak and move amendments in the committee stage, and concrete problems raised by affected people are exactly what they put on the record.
  • Start or sign a petition at petitions.parliament.nz — the formal channel that stays open regardless of the House’s timetable.

Who spoke in the debates

Members who took a call in this bill’s debates, from our Hansard corpus. Under urgency several bills are often debated together (a “cognate” debate), so speakers may be addressing the group of bills.

● Mike Butterick National · 37 ● Rachel Brooking Labour · 2 ● Hūhana Lyndon Greens · 1 ● Lawrence Xu-Nan Greens · 1

What this bill changes

AI-assisted analysis · every claim links to primary source · corrections
Published 15 Sep 2026, 7:21pm UTC (separate from, and later than, the alert timestamp above) · model: claude-opus-4-8

In short: The bill overhauls Public Works Act land acquisition, objection, and compensation processes, and creates emergency, Transpower, and combined-project acquisition pathways.

What changes
Narrows a power The Environment Court must not inquire into the amount of compensation payable for a taking of land to which an objection relates.
cl 13 → Public Works Act 1981, s 24 · affects: landowners, objectors, Environment Court · confidence: high
The bill text this is based on
“The Environment Court must not inquire into the amount of compensation payable under this Act for a taking of land to which an objection relates.”
Creates an obligation Before notifying an intention to take land, the Minister or local authority must invite the owner to sell and provide a registered-valuer estimate of compensation, and must negotiate in good faith to attempt agreement.
cl 11 → Public Works Act 1981, s 18 · affects: landowners, the Minister for Land Information, local authorities · confidence: high
The bill text this is based on
“after inviting the owner to sell, make every endeavour to negotiate in good faith with the owner in an attempt to reach an agreement for the acquisition of the land.”
Creates a right An owner who agrees to sell notified land before a notice of intention to take is issued must be paid additional compensation of 10% of total land value, being at least $5,000 and capped at $100,000.
cl 33 → Public Works Act 1981, s 72DA · affects: landowners who sell by agreement · confidence: high
The bill text this is based on
“The compensation paid under subsection (1) must— (a) equal 10% of the total land value; or (b) be $5,000 if 10% of the total land value is equal to or less than $5,000; or (c) be $100,000 if 10% of the total land value is equal to or more than $100,000.”
Changes a threshold The Land Valuation Tribunal may not hear a compensation claim unless satisfied the claimant took all reasonable steps to resolve the dispute using an alternative dispute resolution process, or gives leave.
cl 38 → Public Works Act 1981, s 84A · affects: landowners, compensation claimants, Land Valuation Tribunal · confidence: high
The bill text this is based on
“is satisfied that the party who filed the notice has taken all reasonable steps to resolve the dispute using an alternative dispute resolution process provided by an independent person; or”
Removes a right A new emergency land acquisition process may be activated by Order in Council after an emergency, with no Environment Court proceedings available for takings under it.
cl 23 → Public Works Act 1981, s 39U · affects: landowners in emergency-declared areas, the Minister for Land Information, local authorities · confidence: high
The bill text this is based on
“39U No Environment Court proceedings Sections 24 and 25 do not apply.”
Creates an obligation Consent of the relevant Māori portfolio Minister is required before giving or serving a notice to take protected Māori land required for a Government work.
cl 12 → Public Works Act 1981, s 23B · affects: Māori landowners, the Minister for Land Information, Māori portfolio Ministers · confidence: high
The bill text this is based on
“the Minister for Māori Development, if the land to be taken is— (i) required for a Government work; and (ii) of the kind described in any other paragraph of the definition of protected Māori land”
Expands a power Transpower may itself undertake steps under the Act to acquire or have land taken for a Transpower work, acting as if it were the Minister.
cl 23 → Public Works Act 1981, s 39B · affects: Transpower, landowners affected by Transpower works · confidence: high
The bill text this is based on
“Transpower may, for the purposes of acquiring the land or having the land taken for the Transpower work, do either or both of the following as if Transpower were the Minister:”
Who this affects
landownersobjectorsEnvironment Courtthe Minister for Land Informationlocal authoritieslandowners who sell by agreementcompensation claimantsLand Valuation Tribunallandowners in emergency-declared areasMāori landownersMāori portfolio MinistersTranspowerlandowners affected by Transpower works
Scrutiny

Taken under urgency; the compressed timetable limited scrutiny even where a committee stage existed.

Commencement: The Act comes into force on the 28th day after Royal assent, except that section 23 (for new Part 2C) and section 41 (for new Schedule 1AA clauses 12A and 12B) come into force the day after Royal assent.
Retrospective: yes
Gaps we can see. Clauses whose effect could not be established from the bill text alone: cl 4 (interpretation amendments; effect depends on unquoted target text), cl 16 (s 39AAC amendment; target text not shown), cl 18 (s 39AAI submission process; interacts with unquoted provisions), cl 22 (s 39AAO replaced; effect depends on Part structure), cl 24 (s 47 record of title; machinery), cl 29 (s 72B definitions; effect depends on target text), cl 34 (s 72E adjustment provisions; target text not fully shown), cl 42 (Schedule 2B paragraph 9 repeal; effect of repealed paragraph unknown), cl 44 (removal of powers to authorise persons to act on Minister's behalf; depends on unquoted target text), cl 45 (minor and consequential amendments), cl 46 (consequential amendments to other legislation), cl 12, cl 13, cl 31. 3 extracted claims failed verbatim verification against the bill text and were discarded rather than published.

Method: the model reads the bill as published (claude-opus-4-8); every claim above carries a verbatim span of that text, checked mechanically — claims that fail the check are dropped, not softened. Text analysed from an archived copy of the official text. Full methodology →

Source record — the urgency motion as published
15 September 2026 — scope: the remaining stages of the (All remaining stages) 
A motion to accord urgency to the following business was agreed to:
- the remaining stages of the:
  - India Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill;
  - Local Government (System Improvements) Amendment Bill;
  - Oranga Tamariki (Responding to Serious Youth Offending) Amendment Bill; and
  - Summary Offences (Move-on Orders) Amendment Bill
- the first reading, and referral to select committee of the:
  - References to Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi (Repeals) Amendment Bill;
  - References to Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi (Strength of Legislative Obligations) Amendment Bill; and
  - References to Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi (Standardisation) Amendment Bill
- the second reading and committee stage of the Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines Amendment Bill;
- the remaining stages of the Public Works Amendment Bill;
- the committee stage of the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) (3 Day Postnatal Stay) Amendment Bill;
- the remaining stages of the:
  - Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Bill;
  - Policing Amendment Bill;
  - Corrections (Management of Prisoners, and Prisoners’ Property) Amendment Bill;
  - Immigration (Enhanced Risk Management) Amendment Bill;
  - Land Transport (Revenue) Amendment Bill;
  - Financial Markets Conduct Amendment Bill; and
  - Commerce (Promoting Competition and Other Matters) Amendment Bill.
Source: Daily progress in the House → · Hansard for this sitting day →