Learning from others

Interesting and engaging case studies of consultation about infrastructure

Effective consultation needs to cover the key issues, express them clearly in a way that can be understood, and generate interest. It needs to pose questions and provide enough information to stimulate useful answers.

In this chapter, we highlight examples of how local authorities set out consultation issues related to infrastructure.

Consulting on infrastructure in general

Auckland Council: Clear communication through design

In our view, Auckland Council’s consultation document was a good example of clear communication through design, setting out the implications of not increasing funding for key infrastructure.

An extract from Auckland Council’s consultation document, AK have your say, laying out two contrasting scenarios for funding public transport.

The document set out the implications by comparing a scenario with no additional funding against one with additional funding proposed for each area of infrastructure. Attractive and clear illustrations supporting each of the investments sought to make the document engaging, with each service given prominence through a dedicated page of the document. We felt that, provided with consistent information on each service area, the reader would have been stimulated to reflect on trade-offs and relative priorities, as well as consider the funding dilemma.

Why we liked this example against the eight characteristics of good consultation
1	Outward focused	✔
2	Fair representation of the issues and objectives	✔
3	Can be readily understood, with enough information provided	✔
5	Tells an integrated story	✔
6	Consistent with underlying information	✔
8	Uses appropriate and accessible means	✔

An extract from Auckland Council’s consultation document, AK have your say, laying out two contrasting scenarios for funding water assets.

Hutt City Council: Clear options for funding investment in the three waters

We liked the way Hutt City Council called its consultation document Getting the basics right. In our view, getting the basics right is a fair representation of council priorities.

Hutt City Council was also open and transparent about a history of underinvestment and the forthcoming challenge of 60% of water infrastructure needing to be replaced in the next 30 years. Hutt City Council is facing an issue common to many urban areas across the country that were developed within a relatively short period and therefore have assets coming to the end of their useful life within a similarly short time frame. A spike in renewal needs such as this places real pressure on funding, project management, and market capacity.

Why we liked this example against the eight characteristics of good consultation
1	Outward focused	✔
2	Fair representation of the issues and objectives	✔
3	Can be readily understood, with enough information provided	✔
4	Informs discussion	✔
6	Consistent with underlying information	✔
8	Uses appropriate and accessible means	✔

E whakatika ana i ngā mea matua: Getting the basics right, clearly illustrating the approach to dealing with a history of underinvestment.

An extract from Hutt City Council’s consultation document, E whakatika ana i ngā mea matua: Getting the basics right, setting out the issue of aging infrastructure alongside a summary of the planned response.

We were impressed by the way Hutt City Council was prepared to acknowledge a history of underinvestment and make the case for increasing funding in future. We felt that was a fair representation of the local situation.

Whaktāne District Council: Linking key questions to its “five big things we need to talk about”

We liked the way Whakatāne District Council linked the first of its “five big things we need to talk about” to five challenges it has identified.

It knows that it needs to meet these challenges to deliver water supply, waste, and stormwater services in an efficient, effective, and sustainable way. Striking the optimal balance between them, however, requires some complex engineering judgements and political leadership.

Why we liked this example against the eight characteristics of good consultation
1	Outward focused	✔
4	Informs discussion	✔
5	Tells an integrated story	✔
6	Consistent with underlying information	✔
8	Uses appropriate and accessible means	✔

An extract from Whakatāne District Council’s The journey forward: Ka anga whakatamua, outlining five key challenges to the first of its five big things: “improving our water supply, sewerage and stormwater services is a must”.

Although it is not practical and probably not necessary for a lot of detail to be put to stakeholders, Whakatāne District Council’s approach helped local people appreciate the complexity and the way the Council was weighing up competing factors to determine its options.

An extract from Whakatāne District Council’s The journey forward: Ka anga whakatamua, illustrating how an engaging illustration and a call out in plain English supports the presentation of complex issues.

We liked Whakatāne District Council’s use of graphics, images, and call outs to pose simple yet thought provoking questions. In our view, asking “spending on three waters is a must-do – we have no option, so how do we meet increased costs?” helps one of the most important complex issues facing our infrastructure to be readily understood.

Consulting on specific types of infrastructure

Greater Wellington Regional Council: Engaging graphics presenting the cost and impact of the preferred option

Greater Wellington Regional Council explained to its ratepayers that:

There are three big topics we’d really like your thoughts on. Two are focused on the need for urgent action to tackle climate change. The third is about the best way to support joint action to boost regional growth and development.

Why we liked this example against the eight characteristics of good consultation
2	Fair representation of the issues and objectives	✔
3	Can be readily understood, with enough information provided	✔
8	Uses appropriate and accessible means	✔

Using simple presentation of complex issues, clearly articulated, we thought this was a good way to frame a complex debate. It made it manageable and easy to understand. People can relate to issues such as “pushing the go button on electrifying our bus and rail network” and “pumping up our restoration of regional parks to fight climate change”, even if they do not understand the complex engineering that would be required.

An extract from Greater Wellington Regional Council’s consultation document Help us write the great Wellington regional story, putting the consultation issues – public transport, regional parks, economic development – in the context of the big issue – climate change.

We liked the way Greater Wellington Regional Council framed the consultation issues in terms of climate change – “our biggest challenge”. Few would argue that climate change is not a significant issue, but many would perhaps be struggling to know what to do about it. Greater Wellington Regional Council is clear and positive about the areas it has decided to focus on and the choices it was putting forward.

We thought that investing in engaging graphics showed care and attention to detail that both reinforced the importance of the message and made for an engaging document. A reader needs to be engaged if there is any possibility of them making a meaningful contribution to the debate.

An extract from Greater Wellington Regional Council’s consultation document Help us write the great Wellington regional story, using classic story book style graphics to keep the reader engaged.

Kawerau District Council: Putting decisions in context

A fair representation means clearly explaining the judgments that the council’s engineering experts are making and why. Without understanding the context, local people are ill informed to provide feedback on funding levels and their likely rates impact.

Even though there is a lot of information presented by Kawerau District Council, a quick read makes it clear what judgements were made in the past and how this is proposed to change in future:

Why we liked this example against the eight characteristics of good consultation
2	Fair representation of the issues and objectives	✔
5	Tells an integrated story	✔
6	Consistent with underlying information	✔

In the past:

The Council’s practice to date has been to replace water pipes when breakages occur or when the pipes are known to be at the end of their useful life. This practice avoided unnecessary costs resulting from pipes being replaced early.

Now:

Council is proposing to replace all old steel and asbestos cement pipes over the next six years due to:

• Pipes deteriorating faster in some areas due to geothermal and water acidity.
• Overall, pipes in Kawerau deteriorate 24% faster than the national average.
• Nearly half of the water supply pipes consist of asbestos cement.
• On-going discoloured water issues due to the build-up of manganese and iron in existing pipes.

We liked the way the Council explains the issue, why it is proposing to change its approach, and how this might impact rates. The inclusion of a map helps readers understand how their property is likely to be affected.

An extract from Kawerau District Council’s Long-term plan 2021-31 consultation document: Tell us what you think – a detailed one pager with clear options.

New Plymouth District Council: Being open and transparent about the big issues

New Plymouth District Council’s “big call 1” is “fixing our plumbing”. The Council explains:

We have a backlog of renewal work to do on our key infrastructure assets, particularly the three waters (drinking water wastewater/sewerage, stormwater). We are considering how much we should spend and how we should fund that expenditure. We are proposing to spend $248m over 10 years, with an expectation we will catch-up on the backlog in 20 years and to fund that amount from a mixture of rates and debt for long life assets.

Why we liked this example against the eight characteristics of good consultation
2	Fair representation of the issues and objectives	✔
3	Can be readily understood, with enough information provided	✔
6	Consistent with underlying information	✔

We commend the Council for being open and transparent about the issue and explaining it in a way that is easily understandable. We expect good consultation to be based on a fair representation of the issues. New Plymouth District Council did a good job of representing its current and desired future position. We particularly liked the way it explained its vision and challenges.

We believe that good quality asset information is the foundation of robust planning. It is even more important where there are big decisions to be made, a possible backlog of asset renewals, and risks that might result. Better information helps manage risk by reducing the level of uncertainty. New Plymouth District Council rightly recognises the value of investing more in understanding the condition of its assets. Its required level of funding will be more certain as a result.

An extract from New Plymouth District Council’s LTP 2021-2031 consultation document: Your home, your say: Tell us what you think about our draft 10-year plan, highlighting the importance of good quality asset information in dealing with historic underinvestment.

Southland District Council: Making the right linkages

We liked the way Southland District Council focused on two aspects of its infrastructure – “our roads” and “our bridges” – and linked them to “the impact on rates”.

Why we liked this example against the eight characteristics of good consultation
1	Outward focused	✔
2	Fair representation of the issues and objectives	✔
6	Consistent with underlying information	✔

An extract from It’s time Southland/Murihiku, showing how options were linked to their likely consequences – on rates, on debt, and on levels of service.

Although many councils put their consultation issues in the context of the services that infrastructure supports, Southland District Council was one of the few that made the possible impact on the future level of service clear. In the example we have highlighted, the Council drew a contrast between “investing more in our roading network” and the “status quo”.

The stark description made real what might otherwise have been a relatively abstract decision. Real-world consequences that people would start to experience were explained so that people could understand the implications of their choices:

If we don’t increase spending on rebuilding sections of road requiring rehabilitation, repairs will become more noticeable, and we will end up with rougher and slicker roads, to the point where more speed restrictions may be warranted to help address safety issues. As the condition of roads deteriorate, we will see an increased backlog of work. Some roads will revert to gravel as we focus our static maintenance budget on efforts to repair a smaller number of roads. Some roads may need to be closed.

An extract from It’s time Southland/Murihiku, explaining in stark terms the real-world impact on service levels of continuing the current level of road maintenance funding.