This Monday, when the Government released modelling suggesting diesel prices in New Zealand could potentially reach $5 per litre during a severe supply disruption, I was not actually surprised. What surprised me more was the thought that came immediately afterwards: If I could already see this coming… can we still call it an “unforeseen event”? That question stayed with me all week. Treasury modelling released alongside the Government’s updated fuel resilience framework sugge

Most financial losses in construction projects don’t come from major disputes or headline-grabbing claims. Instead, they often stem from small, everyday decisions made on site by teams who lack commercial awareness. These decisions might seem minor at the time, missing a notice deadline, failing to document an instruction properly, or accepting variations informally, but over the life of a project, they add up to significant financial loss. Having worked closely with construc

Delays are expected on construction projects. Acceleration is often presented as the solution. But what is less discussed is what happens in between. The moment when a project moves from entitlement to recovery. From claiming time to giving it back. This is where Extension of Time (EOT) meets acceleration. And this is where risk quietly shifts. This week, I was working with a contractor on a claim that sat precisely in that space. The project had experienced a series of delay

I was recently involved in an adjudication where one thing became clear almost immediately. One party had relied heavily on AI to prepare their submissions—the payment claim, the adjudication claim, and even the reply. At first glance, the documents appeared strong. The structure was clean, the language was polished, and the arguments were presented with a level of confidence that made the overall submission read as though it had been prepared by someone experienced. However,

Do you feel that severe weather events are becoming more and more common? Floods. Cyclones. Storms. Every year it seems like another “once-in-a-decade” weather event appears in the news. This weekend, New Zealand is preparing for another major weather system moving across the North Island, bringing damaging winds, heavy rainfall, flooding risks, and potential power outages. For many people, the concern is simple: Will my house be safe? Will the roads flood? Will the power st

Fuel prices have once again moved to the centre of public discussion in New Zealand. Over the past few weeks, government officials have warned that the country could be facing a prolonged disruption to global fuel supply as tensions in the Middle East continue to affect international energy markets. The Prime Minister has cautioned that the situation “could get worse before it gets better,” and ministers are already considering contingency planning for a potential fuel shorta

There is a small paragraph in construction law that quietly decides many payment disputes. Most people never read it. Many templates accidentally delete it. And when it is missing, an entire claim can collapse. I am talking about the prescribed form under the Construction Contracts Act 2002 (CCA). It is not a complicated legal doctrine. It is simply a mandatory notice that must accompany certain documents , most commonly payment claims . But despite its simplicity, it carrie

The construction industry has entered the year with a familiar but uncomfortable pattern: more and more contractors, big or small, has gone under faster than ever. Over the past year, insolvencies across the New Zealand construction sector have continued to make headlines. Smaller subcontractors have been under pressure for some time, but more recently we have also seen larger, well-established companies struggle to survive. These are businesses with experienced teams, establ

This is the last EM Friday of the year. If 2025 had a “construction vibe,” it was this: everyone is tired, everyone is stretched, and yet the disputes keep coming . Not because people suddenly got worse at their jobs… but because the margin for error is basically gone. When cashflow is tight and time is tighter, small misunderstandings don’t stay small for long. So I want to use this final post as a wrap-up, a little reset, and a practical “new year kit” you can actually use

This month has quietly turned into my “cultural month” in construction. In just a few weeks, I’ve: Run in-house training for members of the Asian construction community on contracts and disputes Chaired the cultural conversation at AMINZ Construction Day, looking at contracts and disputes through a cultural lens Delivered a bilingual (English–Chinese) workshop on contracts and dispute resolution And tomorrow, I’m heading to the Asian Construction Expo for the second year in a

This week, I helped a main contractor prepare a series of extension of time (EOT) claims. They had their story straight, weather disruptions, late instructions, design changes, and a well-documented chain of emails. But as soon as I opened their contract, I stopped. The EOT clause they thought they were relying on wasn’t there. Someone, somewhere, had “tidied up” the standard form and quietly deleted the very provision that gave them the right to claim. They had reason. They

It’s great to finally feel the change in the air. The days are getting longer, the sun is brighter, and the flowers are beginning to bloom again. There’s something about spring that feels hopeful, like a gentle reminder that no matter how cold or quiet the last few months were, things eventually turn. And in many ways, the construction market feels the same right now. Tender activity is picking up, new projects are being announced, and conversations that had gone quiet are s

Every week across New Zealand, construction companies sign contracts that they don’t fully understand. Some are small family-run firms; others are migrant-owned teams trying to keep projects moving. In the rush to secure work, many business owners flip straight to the price and start date, sign the last page, and move on. Yet time and again, it’s not the building work that gets them into trouble, it’s the paperwork. The signature isn’t the safety net We often treat a signed c

The survival guide on how to stay solvent when your client isn’t. Lately, just about every construction headline has been talking about the Auckland developers that went into liquidation, together owing more than $40 million. On paper, these were thriving projects with glossy renders and strong pre-sales. In reality, when the dust settled, it was the subcontractors, consultants, and suppliers left counting the losses. One subcontractor told a reporter, “We thought we were win

After a full day of in-house training with a group of experienced main contractors, mixed with QSs, project managers and architects, one...

Last week, I've talked about the AI in general use, and I have received many feedback, especially I get lots of people asking me" How did...

AI is reshaping industries everywhere, from finance to healthcare, even farming. But in construction, the conversation has been...

Recently, I sat with a subcontractor who had delivered excellent work on a major project. They were owed a large sum of money, overdue...

New Zealand has always been a land shaped by migration. According to the 2023 Census, nearly 29% of New Zealanders were born overseas....

Construction in New Zealand looks busy. Everywhere you turn, there are new subdivisions, cranes on the skyline, projects on the go. For...