Engineer Shayne Cunis is executive programme director for Auckland’s Central Interceptor wastewater project, a project with 600 staff working on 16 sites across the super city. With an estimated 70% of construction now complete, the work is on track to be finished by 2026. Cunis describes it as the greatest project of his career.
When you tell people you work on infrastructure for Watercare, what response do you get?
I get some negativity, and some abuse, because a lot of people only interact with Watercare when something is broken, or they get a bill, so they’re angry.
What do you say to the knockers?
I’m genuinely proud of what we do, so if I hear criticism, I’ll defend Watercare. We don’t get it right all the time, but we get it more right than wrong, and the quality of people is outstanding. They see and touch things that everyone else just wants to flush and forget, so I say give these workers a break because they’re doing really tough work in really tough times.
How do you pithily sum up the Central Interceptor project?
It’s a giant tunnel designed to collect our combined storm and wastewater, rather than have it discharge into the environment in times of rain. It’s an elegant solution that will convey wastewater to our treatment plant in Māngere, where it will be highly treated before being discharged. It’ll provide huge benefit to both harbours and our inner-city waterways. It will also provide for growth because, like it or not, Auckland city is going to keep growing.
What led you to engineering?
I was not a privileged kid. My parents split up when I was about 5. I went to Green Bay High School in West Auckland. I also happened to be really good at science, so the school guidance counsellor suggested I try engineering. I’d never heard of it, but that’s what I did. I was the first in my family to go to university and it changed my life, because education provides freedom. But it wasn’t easy and if I’d had to borrow as much money to do my degree as people do today, I’m not sure I’d have stuck with it.
Was it easy finding work after graduation?
When I came out, seven out of my class of 90 got jobs as engineers. The big crash of the late-80s put a stop to a lot of building work, which meant no demand, so I spent two years doing things like being a chicken farmer and picking pineapples in Queensland.
How did you get into water?
I used to surf a lot, and I remember Sydney having huge problems with wastewater in the 80s, with surfers getting sick. Then the first job I was offered when I came back from overseas was with North Shore City in the water industry. It was during a drought, so I went straight into working out how to save water, which was fascinating.
How complex was it, to change ingrained behaviours?
When I first lived in Auckland between 1981 and 92, no one talked about water. We didn’t have water meters and you used as much or as little as you wanted. But in the 90s, we started to see how important water was. A finite resource not to be taken for granted, so we had the challenge of changing mindsets while also fixing ageing infrastructure.
You’ve said that engineering can be a “stale, pale, male” sector. How do you work to combat that?
When people think of diversity, they often think of skin colour, gender, orientation, and that’s true, but I think about diversity of thought. I was once stuck at Savannah Airport with the chief executive of Sydney Water, so I bought him lunch, because for someone like me to get a couple of hours with someone like him was a godsend. He said, if you ever get to the top end of the organisation, don’t just surround yourself with people who’ll agree with you; you need people who’ll challenge your thinking. That’s diversity. So I try to surround myself with young, bright people with different thought processes, from all walks of life.
You’ve made time to compete in Ironman events. What motivated that?
I always said if I ever won Lotto, I’d take a year off and train for an Ironman. I’ve never won Lotto, but when I watched my sister – who’s a bit of a hobbit – go across the finish line of an Ironman, I started training. My first run was a shock to the system and it took a year to prepare. The tri club people who saw me do my first ocean swim must have thought there’s no way I’d ever finish an Ironman. But I stuck at it, and when my sister did her second, I did my first, finishing slightly behind her. I was addicted.
What’s the appeal?
I was a fat, type 1 diabetic with hypertension and I improved my strength and my heart health. I dropped about 19kg and got exceptionally fit. I also love that the people who do these events are super positive. Very few people get to experience the finish line and I’ve done it eight times over six years. Ironman changed my life and is the reason I’m still alive.
That’s a dramatic statement. Why do you say that?
Last year, when I’d just finished the Portuguese Ironman, my wife and I had two and a half weeks in Portugal, our first trip overseas since Covid. Just before returning home, we were in Lisbon and I didn’t feel so well. At that moment, it clicked I’d missed a few in-person cardiology appointments, so I arranged one for December 22. Only the cardiologist got Covid so it was moved to February 23. When I rocked up, we’d just had the floods, so it was a busy time for Watercare. I did the treadmill test and the cardiologist said, “Hmmm”, and furrowed his brow, which is never good. I did two more tests, including an angiogram. It ended with me having a double bypass.
What was it like, being confronted with a sense of your own mortality?
It’s hard to believe I was discharged from hospital only nine months ago, but today I only worry about the big stuff. I don’t tolerate long meetings. During my end-of-year company address, I said life’s too short to listen to me talk for too long. I want to get out and enjoy life, because I know it can be taken away in a heartbeat. Which is why, on the morning of my operation, I got my wife to take a detour, and take me to a work site, because we were giving out awards that day. My wife wasn’t too happy but I really wanted to be there to recognise those excellent performances, even if it was the last thing I did.
What pearls of wisdom can you share from the forefront of infrastructure in Tāmaki Makaurau?
My job is to create an environment where people can thrive. Yet I never would have achieved what I have without the people who work with me. I see where some of them are now, doing incredible things all over the world, and that’s the greatest reward for a leader. Whenever my staff move on, I always say to them, “When you’re my boss, be nice to me.”
