Advocacy and Engagement Update August 2025
Legislation and Other Submissions
A number of important pieces of legislation have had their third reading and been enacted in the past month. These include the Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Bill and the Public Works (Critical Infrastructure) Amendment Bill. These legislative changes will make it easier for infrastructure projects to progress through the planning system and should help speed up the acquisition of property for these developments.
Since our last edition of InfraRead, Infrastructure New Zealand has submitted on the following consultations:
- IRD’s Thin Capitalisation Setting Changes.
- Ministry for the Environment’s Resource Management Act Consultation on National Direction Package 1 including: the new National Policy Statements for Infrastructure and Natural Hazards, amendments to the National Policy Statement on Electricity Transmission, and amendments to Environmental Standards for Telecommunication Facilities and Renewable Electricity Generation, and Electricity Transmission Activities.
- The Infrastructure Commission’s Draft National Infrastructure Plan.
- The Transport and Infrastructure Parliamentary Select Committee’s Inquiry into Ports and the Maritime sector.
- Ministry for Housing and Urban Development’s Going for Housing Growth Discussion Document – Pillar 1 Proposals.
- The Local Government System Changes Amendment Bill.
You can read our submissions here.
Infrastructure New Zealand Policy Development
In July, Infrastructure New Zealand ran three member events in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland in July to launch the report and discuss the findings from our 2025 international delegation to Canada.
Along with our other Resource Management Reform Group colleagues from Business NZ, EMA and the NZ Property Council, we caught up with the officials from MfE and Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to get an update on progress with the Phase 3 Resource Management Reforms. While many Cabinet decisions are being made that will shape the final planning and natural environment bills, there are lots of details still to be worked through as part of this transformational system change.
We look forward to seeing the next phase of the Going for Housing Growth Pillars two and three which will focus on Infrastructure Funding and Financing improvements and Incentivising Communities and Councils. Legislative amendments are expected to be introduced later in the year.
Back in June, we wrote to Iain Rennie, Secretary of The Treasury, regarding the transparency and metrics on Infrastructure investment. We have also discussed this issue with Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop as we seek to have more up to date information regarding the volume of work that is actually entering the market and not just the public announcements of allocations. We have had an initial meeting with Treasury to look at better measurement and reporting. A more robust and timely system for reporting is needed across the government sector.
The recent announcement of the $6b worth of work which would commence work on the ground before Christmas sees this message getting through. We know how much the construction sector is still feeling the pain and feel it is vital to closely monitor what work is coming through the system where people and machinery will be engaged on the ground.
Infrastructure New Zealand and Infometrics, along with partners Kāpiti Coast District Council, Porirua City Council and Wellington City Council are working on research on the wider social and economic benefits of Transmission Gully. We will launch the report for that at an event in September.
Media
Our case study report with Connexa on Delivering Next Generation Infrastructure had some media interest in July. We also supported the Government’s announcement of the $6 billion of infrastructure projects which will commence construction before the end of the 2025 year.
There was significant coverage of Building Nations, particularly as we secured four Ministers as speakers and facilitated a political discussion with Minister Bishop and Labour Infrastructure Spokesperson Kieran McAnulty.
The Government’s major announcements at the conference regarding the move to electronic road user charges for all vehicles also attracted a lot of media interest. To coincide with Building Nations, The Herald prepared The Infrastructure Report – Infrastructure at the Crossroads, a lift-out which included articles by Infrastructure New Zealand and across the sector.
Our staff have also provided media commentary on the draft National Infrastructure Plan, our Canadian delegation’s findings on infrastructure delivery, The SH1 Woodend Bypass tolling consultation, and the recent enactment of the Public Works (Critical Infrastructure) Act.
You can read our media releases here.
Welcoming New Members
Nau mai haere mai, welcome, to our new Infrastructure New Zealand members. We’re so glad to have you on board and look forward to continuing to engage with you.
Recent Comments