Industry News

SPONSORED
When shrink-wrapping sites makes sense

Open up a roof or strip a cladding and you have made a deliberate decision to expose the structure and everything inside it to the weather. The question is what you put back over it while the work runs. Temporary encapsulation — heat-shrunk reinforced polyethylene tensioned over a scaffold — has moved from a specialist […]

4 min read
Construction sector more resilient than expected

The 2degrees Shaping Business 2026 Report finds construction among the most upbeat sectors in the country — but the firms doing well are the ones lifting productivity, not waiting for a rebound After a bruising few years marked by project delays, rising costs and broader economic uncertainty, the construction sector is showing more confidence than […]

4 min read
Inside New Zealand’s $227b private sector pipeline

Pacifecon’s latest Market Watch report explores New Zealand’s private sector, alongside general information on projects around the country. This is part one of three looking at projects for the private, central government and council sectors. We also take a look at how the market is trending, letting you know what activity is happening and when. […]

4 min read
Before the next big rain: managing erosion, runoff

Heavy rain turns a building site into two problems at once. While the downpour is on, the question is where your dirty water is going. Once it clears, the question is whether the site is safe to walk back onto. Both sit with the person in control of the work, and both are easier to […]

4 min read
Jason Quinn on fixing New Zealand’s building performance

Sustainable Engineering director Jason Quinn says New Zealand doesn’t have a building science problem, but a construction execution one Jason Quinn spent about a decade at NASA working in propulsion and combustion physics. Seeking change, he took a year off in New Zealand, fell in love with the country, and never left. He soon became […]

7 min read
No one builds alone: Live Well, Build Well

The Live Well, Build Well initiative began in late 2022 to help residential construction workers improve their mental health and wellbeing. Backed by the Mental Health Foundation and ACC, the programme is designed to help builders and tradies build the mental strength and resilience needed to cope with the demands of working in a challenging […]

5 min read
Hiring boom brings new focus to workplace drug risk

Canterbury’s meth use is now almost 40% above its average level from last year, recent wastewater testing shows. National consumption has risen to an estimated 36.6kg per week.  This level of methamphetamine use has a weekly social harm cost of almost $40 million. Cocaine use has decreased since it spiked in the October 2025 quarter, […]

4 min read
What Budget 2026 really means for the construction sector

Budget 2026 gives the construction sector a clearer picture of where government investment is heading over the next four years. While the headline figure is around $7 billion in new capital investment, the Budget shows a shift towards resilience, renewals and maintaining existing infrastructure alongside major new projects. Funding includes a new ward tower at […]

4 min read
Girls with Hi-Vis helps build tomorrow’s workforce

The search for the next generation of skilled workers remains one of the biggest challenges facing New Zealand’s infrastructure and construction sectors. As demand for civil works, utilities and transport projects continues to grow, the industry is increasingly looking beyond traditional recruitment pathways to attract new talent and inspire groups that have historically been underrepresented […]

3 min read