Polarising big projects

• Published date: 04 November 2021
• Publication title: Central Otago News

They also stir up controversy.

How disruptive will they be? Should they go ahead?

A few key ideas help me think about them.

My first key idea is Kenneth Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem. It sounds grand, but it’s the idea that you can’t please everybody all the time. Prof Arrow just proved it with maths.

These big projects are going to be polarising. Some people will hate them and some will hate not doing them, and that’s just life with other people.

My second thought is about productivity. Other countries invest in machinery, processes and staff training. Every year they get more out of each hour they work.

New Zealand does, too, but not as much. There is a lot of research into the causes, but basically we don’t spend enough money on getting better. We don’t invest enough for the future.

For that reason, I get excited when people are willing to invest in our area.

Some people worry about the impacts if a big project fails. However, this shouldn’t stop us from trying new things, because we know there isn’t enough investment in New Zealand. It just means we need to have a plan if things go wrong.

Of course, not all investment should go ahead. Several dams in Oregon may be removed in the next few years because of the environmental damage they have done. Building the famous Hoover Dam cost the lives of more than 100 workers. We might make different decisions today about these projects.

Nevertheless, I start from the idea that investment is generally good because of the potential productivity growth.

My last key idea is about where we focus our efforts as residents and citizens...