Experts and legal fees large part of $1.29b consent costs

Commission chief executive Ross Copland said the results of this study was "quite concerning".(Image: supplied)

Fri, 10 Dec 2021

The head of the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission has expressed his concern about the growing $1.29 billion annual costs of resource consents in the country, due in large part to consultants and legal fees.A new report that analysed 186 infrastructure projects had found 70%, or more than $900 million, of all consenting expenditure goes to paying planners, landscape architects, ecologists and lawyers.Commission chief executive Ross Copland said the results of this study, which was conducted by research firm Sapere and commissioned by the NZ...

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