35381 (2025). Tangi Utikere to the Minister of Transport

35381 (2025). Tangi Utikere to the Minister of Transport: Does NZTA calculate or estimate a unit cost for each repeat pothole repair, and if not, what mechanisms are in place to assess whether repeat repairs represent a cost inefficiency to the Crown?

Hon Chris Bishop: I am advised by NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) that the Network Outcomes Contract model maintained the grouping of temporary, permanent and preventive pavement repairs under a single lump sum. This meant that any variance in the costs of pavement maintenance activities was not captured. In NZTA’s new Integrated Delivery Contract model that is currently being procured, NZTA will be paying for potholes individually, with an expected life of 6 months. NZTA will not pay if a second repair is required earlier than this.