At a time when the infrastructure sector is being asked to do more with less, are we asking the right questions?
Last week, our Frequency Session in Te Whanganui-a-Tara brought together some of the sharpest minds in the infrastructure ecosystem, not just to debate delivery, but to reflect on how we think, collaborate, and lead.
Our panel, Dame Fran Wilde, Siobhan Procter, Geoff Cooper, and Matt Wilton, facilitated by Sharon Parackal, explored the inertia in the system, the distance between planning and execution, and the often-missing piece: alignment.
Across the room, a few questions surfaced:
What are we building? Who for? Who pays? Can we afford to maintain it all?
It’s a provocation that invites both humility and imagination. And it sits at the heart of a delivery system under many pressures, where constrained funding, complex governance, and wavering public confidence risk undermining the intent to build for future generations.
What’s standing in the way of progress?
The panel didn’t dwell on complaints. Instead, they unpacked the structural, regulatory and cultural friction points slowing delivery down, from procurement settings that prioritise lowest cost over best outcome, to governance frameworks that fragment accountability.
It was clear that technical capability is not the problem. What is needed is a shift in mindset: one that favours partnership over silos, real-world outcomes over paper-based strategy, and trust over process.
Lessons from abroad
As Geoff Cooper reminded us, we’re not alone in facing these challenges, and we can learn from those who are a few steps ahead.
He pointed to examples like New York, where congestion charging has taken the peak out of the demand curve, thereby closing the perceived infrastructure gap without any new capacity needing to be added.
The takeaway? Success isn’t just about chasing an ever growing demand to satisfy ‘peak’ demand — it is also about using what we have already built better. And that will help us prioritise scarce funding towards that infrastructure we simply have to build.
No one in the room was under any illusion about how complex the path ahead is. But the tone wasn’t one of frustration — it was one of resolve.
At Frequency, these are the spaces we’re drawn to. We work where delivery meets communication — and where long-term value is only possible when people, process, and purpose are genuinely aligned.
Frequency Sessions is our way of bringing together leaders from across the infrastructure sector to have conversations about the issues shaping delivery in Aotearoa.
