John Tookey: AUT construction professor on the Government releasing plans to improve competition in the building supplies sector

The Government will be making moves to monitor key building supply prices to improve competition and transparency. Last December, the Commerce Commission made some recommendations to improve competition in the building supply sector, and the Government agreed to 8 out of the 9 suggestions. These include supporting alternative products and lifting offsite manufacturing at least 10 percent year on year. AUT construction professor John Tookey approves of some aspects of this plan, but feels cynical about their implementation. "What sprung out to me was- the commitment to looking towards introducing competition, but I find that very challenging from a political point of view. You can imagine a scenario where Government were emphasising a foreign competitor for a local domestic success story."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.