Industry pleads for action on 'unsustainable' standards system

More than 140 water infrastructure standards are becoming obsolete, industry group says. (Image: Stuart Whitaker)

Fri, 26 Sep 2025

A group of 30 business organisations has written to the Government calling for urgent action on New Zealand’s “broken” standards system.The current model for funding and developing standards – the specifications underpinning everything from bitumen to pipelines – is outdated and holding up progress in key sectors, according to Engineering NZ, Business NZ, NZ Certified Builders and a range of industry bodies.In some cases, standards had expired or there was no standard at all, Engineering NZ chief executive Richard...

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