The Front Page: The big infrastructure dilemma facing the next Government

Severe flooding hit Waiohiki and displaced many during Cyclone Gabrielle.

The next Government, regardless of its shape or form, will face a massive headache in terms of how to deal with extreme weather events.

Speaking to The Front Page podcast, science journalist Jamie Morton says the problem lies underground and will take a huge commitment to fix.

“New Zealand has about $20 billion worth of water networks that were never designed for the massive volumes they’re going to have to manage with rising seas and extreme weather events,” says Morton.

“In some places, these networks were built 60 to 70 years ago. They’ve all been paved over, and now exceed carrying capacity.”

Big, expensive decisions will have to be made in terms of contending with this issue.

“What should we do about our infrastructure in the face of a climate crisis? I think that’s probably going to be one of the most interesting challenges and questions that the next government’s going to have to address in the next term.”

Market forces may also ultimately start to play a role in determining where we live and build, irrespective of the regulation the parties are proposing.

“It’s highly likely in the next few years that we see market signals from the insurance industry that’s going to discourage people from building or buying in dodgy places, coastal areas or floodplains,” says Morton.

Morton has been reporting on climate science over the last decade, but says even he was alarmed by what he’s seen over the last 12 months.

“What’s happened this year has been frightening,” he says.

“In July, we just saw the hottest month in 120,000 years. Down below us in the Southern Ocean, we’re missing about seven to 10 New Zealands’ worth of sea ice – and there are now fears that the sea ice extent in the ocean has reached a new state that we’re never going to be able to come back from.”

Morton says with El Niño conditions returning, the East Coast will see the impact of climate heating in the coming months.

But this is only the start.

“This is just what we’re seeing now, and it doesn’t take into account how bad the picture’s going to look in 50 to 60 years from now.

“What’s it going to take to actually drive serious policy or to see a meaningful response to what’s happening to the world? Is it going to take events like [the flooding over] Auckland Anniversary weekend happening again and again?”

So, what are our politicians offering when it comes to climate change? And does the voting public even care enough to recognise the importance of this issue when making a decision in the polling booth?

Today’s episode of The Front Page podcast gives an in-depth breakdown of what it will take to get a cross-partisan consensus on climate change.

The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. It is presented by Damien Venuto, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in business reporting who joined the Herald in 2017.

You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.