Questions/Answers

After the 7.8 magnitude Kaikōura Earthquake in November 2016, the transport networks connecting communities across North Canterbury and New Zealand were devastated. It was an extraordinary seismic event: 21 faults had ruptured, generating the strongest ground shaking ever recorded in New Zealand. Thousands of landslides came down. Coastal and rural communities were isolated overnight. The instant disruption to tourism, freight and primary industries was felt nationwide. Many residents were dealing with broken homes, loss of jobs and long drives to connect with family and friends. Freight customers were faced with a substantial increase in travel times from using alternate routes and the connection of rail across the South Island was severed. The tourism industry that Kaikōura relied upon was effectively shut down. Work to reinstate the transport networks initially seemed impossible. The project team set a stretch target of reopening by Christmas 2017, just in time for the busy summer season, which would be vital for the region’s recovery. Then the team’s focus would shift to make those routes safer and more resilient. Through innovation and an amazing collaborative effort involving the community, stakeholders, Māori and thousands of team members we reopened road and rail ahead of target. It was an extraordinary response to a complex, multi-faceted infrastructure project that had many critical safety risks which required new ways of working at all levels -from governance through to frontline teams. A good health and safety approach meant there were no significant safety events. The project improved heritage, cultural and environmental outcomes in an area that is culturally significant to the local iwi (tribe) Ngāi Tahu. This was a profound, country-shaping reinstatement that pulled communities, business and public and private sector together towards common outcomes, and leaves behind a safer, more resilient network that will serve generations to come.

The destruction occurred on a coast renowned for its natural scenery, ecosystems and tourism experiences. There are threatened and at-risk species including seabirds, lizards, fish and plants, some unique only to Kaikōura. The recovery team had to preserve what was precious, while rebuilding quickly and with care. The project team took a transparent, innovative and people-centric governance approach to deliver outstanding results with minimal impact on the diverse taonga (treasure) of Kaikōura’s natural environment. The team improved environmental outcomes, eg, through propagating the Ohau Daisy, introducing barriers to keep seals off the road, and changing landscaping to encourage lizard habitation.

The project strongly aligns with Sustainable Development goal nine, building resilient infrastructure. Following the successful reopening of the transport networks in late 2017 the team has been delivering strategic long-term durable solutions that improve the safety and resilience of the transport networks. This includes making temporary repairs permanent and building innovative new structures such as the rockfall protection canopy south of Kaikōura which will be the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. Resilience of the new road is in line with a broader strategy developed by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency in 2017 that sought to understand and enhance resilience in New Zealand’s state highway network to natural hazards. Safety and resilience has been built into everything the team has done in Kaikōura to help plan for the future and build things that will be able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions such as extreme weather. The project team recognized the intrinsic value of Kaikōura’s biological diversity and proactively worked to mitigate any effects and improve environmental outcomes, also aligning with Sustainable Development goal fifteen with respect to protecting and restoring sustainable ecosystems.

The governance model is now being used across large multi-million dollar infrastructure projects in New Zealand. Lessons have been learnt about how to manage fast-tracked large-scale disaster recovery by working collaboratively with stakeholders and Maori. Social outcomes include stronger community connections, rest areas and a cultural art package that reflect the rich culture of New Zealand. Economic outcomes include improved safety and journey time, strengthening of a critical freight route, tourism promotion. Environmental outcomes include infrastructure built with a natural look and local materials to blend in with the rugged coast, propagation of threatened plant species, and seal protection.

The recovery effort to restore the Kaikōura transport corridor has been a remarkable team effort, recognizing the unique relationship between the Crown and Māori. The alliance took a transparent and innovative approach to governance that delivered a hugely complex and challenging project. It introduced one governance structure that also brought in private sector partners. The Board adopted a kaupapa (policy, plan) of people first, recognised local iwi as a Treaty of Waitangi (New Zealand’s founding document) partner, integrated the project into the community and focused on results that delivered value for money and openly shared information and risk. Order in Council legislation meant that recovery work could be fast tracked but a condition was the establishment of a Restoration Liaison Group consisting of local councils and environmental and cultural organisations to help address environmental, ecological and cultural concerns throughout the rebuild. This was a new approach that provided good governance.

Research showed there is a ‘hidden’ female labor force but that women face barriers to participating in the construction sector, including a lack of information and targeted recruitment, and a lack of flexible work options. Currently 41% of the alliance’s permanent workforce is female and six of its Alliance Management Team roles are filled by women, including the roles of Construction Manager, Commercial Manager and site engineers and supervisors.

The 2016 Kaikōura earthquake generated the strongest ground acceleration ever recorded in New Zealand and caused widespread damage throughout the South Island districts of Hurunui, Marlborough and Kaikōura, closing both State Highway 1 and the Main North Line railway between Picton and Christchurch. Overnight, coastal and rural communities along the coast were left isolated with the instant disruption to tourism, freight and primary industries felt nationwide. The project sought to restore the critical transport networks for the local communities as well as others who used the 330km route to travel between Picton and Christchurch. At the same time the natural landscape needed to be protected in a culturally and environmentally sustainable and respectful way. Completion of the disaster recovery phase was more than a rail and road opening - families and friends were reconnected, businesses welcomed tourists back, freight could move easily to and across the South Island, and residents regained a more direct route to the world. The current phase of delivering a safer and more resilient network, that protected and preserved local wildlife, will benefit generations to come and support the community to continue thriving.

The first phase of work was an emergency response, with a goal to reconnect communities as quickly and as safely as possible. Fast-paced works, including temporary repairs, were needed to enable a restricted service for freight trains and reopen SH1 to the public. By December 2017, we had moved mountains and reconnected communities by reopening the road, rail and harbour. The second phase of the project, due to finish in December 2020, is focused on delivering strategic long-term durable solutions that improve the safety and resilience of the transport networks and improve amenity for locals and visitors. This includes making temporary repairs permanent. The project website sets out in chronological order some of the key achievements and milestones to date: https://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/kaikoura-earthquake-response/making-progress/ In terms of monitoring and evaluation, a robust governance model with shared objectives and collective accountability was established early in phase 1. Representatives from the Alliance owner participants (Waka Kotahi and KiwiRail) and non-owner participants (construction companies - Downer, Fulton Hogan, HEB Construction and Higgins) make up the Project Alliance Board. The Alliance allowed for the establishment of a collaborative contracting model with a focus on urgency of response, network resilience and optimisation, appropriate resource allocation and cost optimisation, with good risk management practices. A Crown-appointed Oversight Group (OSG) was set up to provide assurance to Ministers, comprising Waka Kotahi, KiwiRail, the Ministry of Transport, Treasury and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, to ensure the response was well-coordinated and on track to deliver on time and on budget. Waka Kotahi and KiwiRail instigated a process for independent and confidential peer reviews to occur at key points in the life of the project, in accordance with the Treasury Gateway process. An independent auditing company was also engaged.

The geography of the coastal corridor combined with tidal and seasonal conditions proved challenging.Tropical cyclones Debbie and Cook hit in April 2017. Heavy rainfall resulted in further damage and work had to be halted for a few days as more rocks and material fell from the already damaged slopes. Ex-cyclone Gita hit in February 2018 wreaking havoc on the coast with a further 60 slips. Engineers were pleased with how infrastructure handled the extreme rainfall, but then focused on increasing the capacity of infrastructure with newly-widened debris flow bridges, culverts and strengthened retaining walls to make things more resilient.

This project is one of the largest infrastructure projects ever undertaken in New Zealand, representing a $1.5 billion NZD investment. It is the first time a collaborative approach to project governance has been applied involving iwi, local and central government, and commercial interests. The initial team had 200 design engineers from around the world resulting in innovations with international benefits. They include a bespoke connection to hold together elements of a 2.8km seawall, a modular landslide wall with a narrow 2m footprint to suit highly-constrained areas, and a 100m self-cleaning rockfall canopy for a steep and high rock slope.

Waka Kotahi works to honour the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi by acknowledging the status of Māori as tangata whenua. This prompts them to involve Māori in decision making about projects that affect Māori or their interests. This project took inspiration from this approach and went one step further, inviting iwi and others to be part of formal project governance. By bringing together two owners, four contracting companies and hundreds of professional engineers under one alliance with one vision enabled innovative outcomes that met the challenging needs of this project and will leave a lasting legacy.

Transparency of information has been a core principle for this project. The local community is kept up to date on progress with the works via regular emailed Bulletin newsletters and drop in centres/project updates and through project videos showcasing work underway. Geotechnical visualisations helped to show work that was planned so the community could better understand what was being proposed. An example of that is for the rockfall protection canopy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpMF2mu4jcs&feature=emb_logo Communities were informed about road closures and key works by text message so that the information would be delivered directly to them if they were travelling.

Yes. The project’s model of governance of large infrastructure projects is now being used across $6.8 million NZD of work across New Zealand, from Queenstown in the South Island to Whangarei in the North Island. Large lesson learnt workshops are being delivered to share information so these can be taken into our current and future work. With regards to the disaster recovery response, complex lessons learned documentation is being developed so it is available to assist others that may have works in the future. The concept of the NCTIR Village – a prefabricated accommodation centre that houses up to 300 - is being used on other projects. This allowed the team to embed workers in the community so they can live, work and play in the area and become part of the community they are serving. This project’s focus on wellbeing as well as physical health and safety is being adopted on other projects. This is critical to support team members to enjoy their work, do it safely, and deliver good outcomes.

Not applicable, see answer above.

Over 9500 people from over 350 organisations have worked on the project since 2017. Currently 28% of the team are local people from the Kaikōura community. The Alliance’s environmental team has included planners, archaeologists, ecologists, landscape architects, seal handlers, cultural advisors, construction environmental advisors and a forensic anthropologist working directly with design and construction teams. Environmental advisors work closely with operational teams so environmental regulations are complied with. In consultation with relevant experts, they advise on environmental issues including erosion and sediment, cultural heritage and archaeological matters, ecology, dewatering, contaminated sites, vegetation clearance, demolition, stormwater quality, landscaping, noise and vibration.

The focus on leaving a lasting, resilient infrastructure network in an area of New Zealand vulnerable to weather, climate and seismic events and the strong relationships formed with local communities and iwi during the restoration effort.

Yes

The Treasury, New Zealand’s lead advisor to the Government on economic and financial policy, has evaluated the project as part of their Gateway Review Process. This is an independent and confidential peer review process that examines projects and programs at key points in their lifecycles to assess their progress and to rate the likelihood of successful delivery of their outcomes. The evaluations undertaken by the Gateway Review Process provided a third level of assurance, confirmed the alignment of the project with Government strategic objectives, increased confidence in investment decisions and the delivery of project benefits, especially around time and budget.

For each Gateway Review the team assessed the project over the course of one week by conducting interviews with key stakeholders and the project team, and by reviewing key documentation. The output of this assessment is a Review Report, which gave the project a delivery confidence rating, and provided recommendations that helped give the project the best chance of success. This approach uses a coaching and mentoring model rather than a monitoring or audit model, which enables conversations to extract value and lessons learnt to continuously improve the outcomes sought.

Four gateway reviews were undertaken during the project tenure, with the latest completed in September 2019. The September evaluation provided a delivery confidence of green/amber where successful delivery of the project appears probable, however constant attention will be needed to ensure risks do not materialise into major issues threatening delivery. The Gateway Review Team found that in the Emergency Response environment following the earthquake the project achieved commendable progress, despite repeated adverse weather. The review determined that the team should remain focused on: o Developing a simple story that describes the Programme o Ensuring the decision makers are aware of the risk of potential iwi opposition of proceeding with the Shared Use Path o Improvement of the Risk Management process o Ensure that the aggressive baseline timetable is actively managed o Ensure a Demobilisation and Transition Plan is in place. The recommendations were undertaken by the Board and the Alliance Management Team.

In late December 2016, the New Zealand Government established North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery Alliance as a public-private alliance between Waka Kotahi , KiwiRail and construction companies Downer, Fulton Hogan, HEB Construction and Higgins to restore the earthquake damaged infrastructure between Picton and Christchurch. Overlaid on this was a unique governance structure that also bought local councils, environmental and cultural organisations, local iwi, and Te Runanga o Kaikōura, to the table to contribute to decision making. The team remains committed to creating a positive legacy for the communities it is working for. The alliance has been guided by legislation that enabled restoration and recovery. The Hurunui/Kaikoura Earthquakes Recovery (Coastal Route and Other Matters) Order in Council 2016 modified New Zealand’s existing environmental legislation (including the Resource Management Act 1991) to ensure the necessary approvals were granted efficiently and quickly. It also contained conditions so that the project benefited from the formation of a Restoration Liaison Group that supported ecological scoping surveys, overarching ecological principals, an iwi adviser supported by cultural monitors, a Construction Environmental Management Plan and stakeholder and community guidance.

The alliance took a transparent and innovative approach to governance that delivered a hugely complex and challenging project. The Board adopted a kaupapa (policy, plan) of people first, recognised local iwi as a Treaty of Waitangi partner, integrated the project into the community and focused on results that delivered value for money and openly shared information and risk. Due to the fast-tracked nature of the recovery phase, the Restoration Liaison Group represented the community on key issues (environmental, heritage, cultural) and was fundamental in reviewing information and holding the alliance accountable on matters of interest. Together with our Treaty Partners, we established a Cultural Advisory Group (CAG) to structure the ongoing local engagement with Te Rūnanga o Kaikōura. The intent of the CAG is to engage at a local level on all aspects of design and construction across the safety and resilience works. From day one, regular community meetings and ‘door knocks’ were held in the Kaikōura area with an office opened in Kaikoura in March 2017. The Bulletin newsletter provides detailed, accurate and timely information on progress with nearly 100 produced to date - https://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/kaikoura-earthquake-response/publications

The Alliance model enabled the works to be undertaken in a coordinated, expedited, efficient, safe, timely manner and as cost effective as practically possible. The Order in Council emergency legislation was a fundamentally important enabler to ensure Waka Kotahi, KiwiRail and the Alliance could provide an emergency response and legitimately act with urgency. But we continued to refine ways of working with our stakeholder group to ensure maximum inputs and value add into the process. Productive and engaging relationships were developed quickly with Treaty Partners at multiple levels. This meant that cultural significance was understood and cultural values embedded throughout the project. Inclusion of iwi representation on the Board and management team would have beneficial so this is a recommendation for future alliances. Waka Kotahi and KiwiRail developed a value statement early on to communicate what success would look like. While operating under a highly pressurised emergency response situation it would have been beneficial to dig deeper at the start into lessons learnt from previous alliances including both the benefits and areas for improvement. That is why this project team is delivering a comprehensive ‘lessons learnt’ resource so future alliances can learn from all that this project went through.