EDITORIAL
Wheels within wheels Over the course of the Perspectives 2012 series, we’ve introduced differing ideas and philosophies on how the tendering and contracts for our roading infrastructure should be managed. Many of these ideas have, in the past, been diametric opposites. And their proponents’ viewpoints have polarised many. Economic tensions, too, have exacerbated these sentiments. But economic reality (see NZTA CEO Colin Crampton’s point of view on page 39) is also driving some of these changes. And Contractors’ Federation CEO Jeremy Sole is working hard to minimise the impact on vulnerable contractors (his thoughts on this are on page 36). Hopefully you will have learnt something from this series; I know I certainly have, and feel much better prepared to understand what I see and hear. But wheels of change do move slowly, and the media can only reflect on what has happened. Trying to second-guess what might happen would be a futile exercise. So, because there is so much currently going on in this area we’ve decided to pause after this month’s update; to see what happens next; to give the impact of the various reports time to be absorbed; and just to see how a pragmatic approach and relationship-building efforts on all sides will affect the outcomes. What seems certain is that not everyone will be happy with the changes that have been signalled. However we trust that this series has presented multiple points of view without bias and that, by at least looking at the issues, we’ve shed some light too. Meanwhile, some wheels do keep turning; we’ve got some great pictures of what’s happening with the Tauranga Eastern Link, one of the RoNS currently being bulldozed through the Bay of Plenty. We take a look at the Waikato Cranes Rena salvage operation – winner of the Crane Association Crane Project of the Year Award. And we’ve got the second part of our look at the Ultra-Fast Broadband rollout. Keeping your workers up-to-date with what they see when digging, and knowing the difference by colour, will no longer be as easy as it once was. Sometimes great wheels stop, too. Just a few days before going to press, we heard of the passing of Hugh Green. A touching tribute from Gavin Riley is on page 20, and the various features we’ve published over the years, including this obituary, have been shared with his family in Ireland.
Kevin Lawrence Managing Editor kevin@contrafed.co.nz
PUBLISHER Contrafed Publishing Co Ltd First Floor, 343 Church Street, Penrose PO Box 112 357, Penrose, Auckland 1642 Phone: +64 9 636 5715 Fax: +64 9 636 5716 www.contrafed.co.nz MANAGING EDITOR Kevin Lawrence DDI: 09 636 5710 Mobile: 021 512 800 Email: kevin@contrafed.co.nz EDITOR-AT-LARGE Gavin Riley DDI: 09 483 3562 REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS Richard Campbell, Hugh de Lacy, Peter Gill, Jeremy Sole, Alan Titchall ADVERTISING MANAGER Mike Bridgman DDI: 09 636 5724 Mobile: 021 228 4988 Email: mike@contrafed.co.nz ADVERTISING SALES Amanda Gilroy DDI: 09 636 5714 Mobile: 021 066 4914 Email: amanda@contrafed.co.nz ADMINISTRATION/SUBSCRIPTIONS Teresa Gillies DDI: 09 636 5715 Email: admin@contrafed.co.nz PRODUCTION Design: TMA Design Printing: Client Focused Solutions Ltd 0272 55 1818 Contributions welcome Please contact the editor before sending them in. Articles in Contractor are copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the permission of the publisher. Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the shareholding organisations.
The official magazine of The New Zealand Contractors’ Federation www.nzcontractors.co.nz Roading New Zealand www.roadingnz.org.nz The Aggregate & Quarry Association www.aqa.org.nz The New Zealand Heavy Haulage Association www.hha.org.nz The Crane Association of New Zealand www.cranes.org.nz Rural Contractors New Zealand www.ruralcontractors.org.nz The Ready Mixed Concrete Association www.nzrmca.org.nz InfraTrain New Zealand www.infratrain.co.nz ISSN 0110-1382
2 AUGUST 2012 CONTRACTOR