Infrastructure new Zealand News & MEDIA RELEASES

MEDIA RELEASE

“The economy and jobs are the priority for the May budget, but post budget the Government must accelerate discussions on the long-term vision, principles and larger investments required to transform the country into the new New Zealand,” says Infrastructure NZ CEO Paul Blair. 

“There are three horizons for government’s response to COVID-19: the first horizon emergency measures to maintain the economy and jobs is nearing an end as we come out of lockdown. 

“The second horizon is about short-term stimulus to restart the economy. 

“The third horizon of work offers a once-in-a-generation chance to transform New Zealand and steer our country’s direction for decades to come. 

“Interviews with senior leaders of Infrastructure NZ member organisations, our young leaders Emerging Talent Network, and feedback from thousands of our webinar attendees have consistently called for this crisis to be turned into an opportunity to lift our vision and reset our strategic thinking. 

“The competing ideas about which sectors, regions and outcomes matter most for New Zealand is an incredibly important debate, however the May budget doesn’t have time to address the complexities of this third horizon and should focus on no-regrets stimulus spending.  

“The second horizon programme could comprise anything from tree planting to installing home insulation. It also will include a long list of essential public works necessary to sustain the economy and promote local, regional and national wellbeing. 

“Infrastructure New Zealand offers several guidelines for the selection of horizon two, shovel-worthy projects:  

1. Maintain and upgrade – maintenance contracts tend to be more labour intensive, less complex, and more easily apportioned into smaller pieces so companies of all sizes can participate; 
   
   
2. Invest in no-regrets sectors – some long-term needs won’t change in a post-COVID-19 future (e.g., clean water, healthy homes, safe hospitals); 
   
   
3. Roll projects quickly into programmes – dozens of disconnected projects could unhelpfully compete for labour and supplies. Coherent programmes of work will be more efficient and achieve better value-for-money and outcomes; 
   
   
4. Choose proven delivery models and partners – collaborative techniques (e.g., alliances, early contractor involvement) between trusted partners are ideal for managing risk while moving fast; 
   
   
5. Embrace social procurement – supporting local businesses, apprenticeships, and all parts of our communities can ensure our investments generate wider benefits, even in the short-term; 
   
   
6. Leverage local government – every $1 of extra revenue that the Crown gives to a council can be matched with $2.50 of borrowing, putting $3.50 to work in the economy. Local government should be a key partner to the Crown in fiscal stimulus, but Crown must provide funding to enable the Urban Growth Partnerships promised in its Urban Growth Agenda; 

“These guidelines will ensure that our shovel-ready work is appropriate and does not hinder our future long-term investments. 

“To enable this rapid work, we will need crucial interim reforms to the RMA, Building Act, and government procurement processes, as well as longer-term comprehensive changes to ensure that we are enabling recovery and innovation in the third horizon and not hampering it. 

“While the immediate work proceeds, we must be planning investment for the all-important third horizon. 

“We need to rapidly design, consent, and procure a suite of future-focused projects that meet the needs of a future generations.These projects should not only grow our economy, but also support our country’s long-term health, safety, and cohesiveness. 

“We also need to find ways to increase private investment for public benefit, just like the Ultra-Fast Broadband Initiative so successfully did in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis. 

“For better or worse, our country has no shortage of no-regrets projects due to long-standing infrastructure under investment, such as for three waters and affordable and healthy homes.” 

“We need to have a shared vision on what the new New Zealand looks like. But between now and then, we can get going quickly on the no-regrets projects that we all stand behind,” says Blair. 

ENDS

For further information and comment contact Paul Blair on 021 902 436 

MEDIA RELEASE

“The Government’s commitment to allow safe construction work to proceed under Alert Level 3 is excellent news, and we encourage all our members to adopt the COVID-19 Construction Protocols recently developed through exemplary industry-government collaboration,” says Paul Blair, Infrastructure NZ CEO.

“The protocols were developed by construction industry representatives from CHASNZ, WorkSafe, Civil Contractors New Zealand and Registered Master Builders, among others, and under the leadership of the Construction Sector Accord.

“The protocols comprise a comprehensive set of health and safety guidelines and rules for working under Alert Level 3, in the residential, civil, and vertical construction sectors.

“We encourage all our members to familiarise themselves with these protocols, available on the CHASNZ website, to both keep workers safe and give them the confidence that it is safe to return to work.

“Civil Contractors New Zealand is hosting a webinar 9:30am on Monday morning to explain the protocols and answer questions. A limited number of places are available.

“It is vitally important that all firms follow these protocols. The last thing we want is to cause a return to Level 4 lockdowns.

“Construction not only improves the built environment and supports our well-being, it also bolsters a host of other infrastructure professions including architects, designers, engineers, investors, lawyers, surveyors, and consultants.

“Restarting construction will help these firms get back to work and focus will now turn to prioritising a programme of work which meets short, medium and long term objectives

“We commend both the speed with which industry was able to develop these protocols and the Government’s swift decision making.

“This crisis has shown how valuable it is to have true partnership between industry and government. We look forward to continued collaboration,” says Blair.

ENDS

For further information and comment contact Paul Blair on 021 902 436

MEDIA RELEASE

“Hard-hit councils, who oversee half this country’s public infrastructure, require financial support from central government that is tied to shared priorities through Urban Growth Partnerships,” says Paul Blair CEO of Infrastructure New Zealand. 

“Rates, which some councils are already choosing to freeze or cut, only provide 60% of council revenues, on average. The rest comes from more commercial sources like developer contributions, fees for public services, or dividends from airports, ports, or stadiums. These are being severely hit by COVID-19. 

“This week, Tauranga City Council announced that revenue would be reduced by between 15-25 per cent. Auckland Council could be hit with an even higher reduction. Wellington, Queenstown and many more of our growth councils are in similar positions. 

“If councils are forced to cut costs (firing contractors, stopping new construction, reducing staff), this lack of cash flow will hurt local economies and consumer confidence even more. 

“Each dollar of lower local government revenue translates to an up to $2.50 reduction in infrastructure investment. Without infrastructure, the much larger housing and development sector cannot accelerate, further magnifying the short-term economic and long-term social impact.  

“Central government funding is urgently required, but this is not a “free lunch” for councils. As with all good partnerships, both the Government and councils will need to show partnership behaviours, and rapidly align on win-win national, regional and local objectives and outcomes.  

“We all share a common goal to reinflate the economy and adapt to the new normal. Urban Growth Partnerships are a core part of the Government’s Urban Growth Agenda, we now call for these to be funded and delivered at pace.  

“Our Building Regions proposal, which argues for a partnership between central government funding with local decision-making, is more relevant than ever to addressing severe funding challenges for councils through this crisis. Our recent letters to Minister Robertson and to Minister Jones have also made this case in detail.  

“For decades we have avoided the tough decisions in our local government sector. The Productivity Commission has talked itself hoarse on this issue but the political will from successive governments hasn’t been there to address change. 

“Local government owns roughly 40% of our infrastructure, the same as central government, but only has a tenth as much money to maintain and upgrade it. Clearly we will need central government partnerships to keep our local economies going. 

“If the Government can replace, or even enhance, lost council revenue, we can restart local works in local communities at great speed. 

“Local government is where some of the greatest need is and where the greatest leverage can be exerted. 

“In these times partnership will be essential. Central and local government need to be working together, not at cross-purposes – he waka eke noa,” says Blair. 

ENDS

For further information and comment contact Paul Blair on 021 902 436

MEDIA RELEASE

“Professions across the New Zealand infrastructure sector could shed up to 30 per cent of staff over the next 6 months unless immediate measures are taken to protect workers and restart construction,” says Infrastructure NZ CEO Paul Blair.

“We have been speaking with a cross section of our 140+ members over the last two weeks to better understand the impacts of the lockdown on their business and the broader infrastructure sector.

“Contracting and construction companies could let go of up to 30% of their staff within 3 months under the current conditions.

“In 6 months, those providing advisory and other support services will be in a similar critical position.

“The construction sector was already in a precarious position, which the Construction Sector Accord – an industry-government partnership – is working to alleviate.

“Infrastructure New Zealand has joined the Accord Steering Group. This Group is making positive progress with the Government at the table, listening carefully and rapidly considering ways to support the sector in these challenging and uncertain times.

 “What industry is hoping for is that the kind of on-site health and safety protection measures successfully employed in countries like Singapore and South Korea to keep construction sites open, can be equally successfully applied here.

“Increased and ongoing Government subsidies might tide the industry over, but the clear mood of the sector is for a staged reduction from Level 4 to 3 and down of the Alert System.

“If we can agree measures around personal protection over the next 3 weeks, the most essential construction projects could move down to Level 3, allowing work to restart.

“Many infrastructure companies are talking about weeks rather than months before they risk insolvency. Several have already taken extraordinary measures to cut salaries and reduce employee hours.

“The infrastructure sector will be essential to New Zealand’s rebuild and recovery. If we can mitigate infection risks and provide for a staged return of construction, New Zealand can emerge from this crisis as quickly as possible,” says Blair.

Infrastructure New Zealand is hosting a webinar at 4pm today, 31 March, where CEO Paul Blair will provide more details from our discussions with industry and government leaders as well as presenting the results of our online survey. He will also be taking questions from attendees. Please click here to register for the webinar.

ENDS

For further information and comment contact Paul Blair on 021 902 436 or Sarah Lang on  021 733 434

MEDIA RELEASE

“The Government’s $12.1 billion COVID-19 package will soften the impacts of COVID-19 for individuals and businesses, however these extraordinary times also create the conditions for our Government to build investment momentum,” says Paul Blair CEO of Infrastructure NZ.

“We’re especially pleased with the reinstatement of depreciation deductions for commercial and industrial buildings. This will allow around $2.1 billion in tax to remain with building owners and it is now incumbent upon them to follow the Government’s lead and inject that money into building upgrades and maintenance.

“If building owners can take advantage of slack in the employment sector and taxpayer assistance, New Zealand could emerge from this crisis with greener, safer and healthier buildings. We’ll be more efficient, more sustainable and more resilient.

“The big opportunity, however, is in the third and as yet unannounced component of the Government’s response – the broader recovery package.

“If the Government gets it right, New Zealand will seize this opportunity to unlock constraints to our social, economic, cultural and environmental progress which have built up over many years, allowing our economy and people to bounce back quickly.

“Infrastructure NZ has developed ten recovery priorities to ensure New Zealand comes out of this crisis stronger than it went in:

1.       Fund local transport and water projects – many councils have consented, shovel ready projects across every town in New Zealand that are ready to go today and don’t need big workforces. Infrastructure New Zealand’s Building Regions proposal aligns well with the Crown’s unfunded Urban Growth Partnerships – the May Budget must introduce a new co-funding regime to get these projects done.

2.       Rapidly mobilise the Infrastructure Commission – some councils don’t even need money to invest in long overdue water and transport projects, just capability. The faster we bring the Infrastructure Commission’s project advisory team on board, the more central and local projects we can unlock.

3.       Double down on housing growth – Kāinga Ora and the Government’s urban growth agenda must build on progress to address the housing crisis and support urban land supply.

4.       Let NZTA borrow – the Transport Agency doesn’t currently have its own borrowing capacity, but it does have a reliable revenue stream and big asset base. If NZTA could borrow in the same way as Kāinga Ora, multi-year transport programmes could be funded. If NZTA has funding certainty it will also enable councils to spend 100% of their transport capex programmes – today these are often underspent as NZTA doesn’t have sufficient funding.

5.       Invest in green energy – we’ll never again have the opportunity to tackle emissions and climate change that we have today. A number of major renewable electricity projects are consented and awaiting transmission investment, but Transpower is unable to invest ahead of demand. Bring the energy programme forward to accelerate the shift away from oil.

6.       Consenting and design – not all projects need shovels and there are thousands of skilled workers who will slip onto welfare if the pipeline stops. We may need infrastructure spend to be a fiscal lever for us in the months ahead – why not design, consent and build business cases now to create a ‘shovel ready’ pipeline for the future?

7.       Streamlined RMA consents and Public Works Act initiatives – the progress New Zealand made to recover from the devastating Christchurch and Kaikoura earthquakes was enabled by streamlining RMA processes. Let’s use these extraordinary times to ensure projects of national significance get consented, or Public Works Act interventions are made, to cut through excessive delays.

8.       Alliance contracting and open-book project delivery partnerships – we can cut down on the time it takes to tender and procure work by signing longer term and bundled project contracts. An open book approach can ensure the taxpayer gets value for money and give employers confidence to keep and take on staff.

9.       Apprenticeships – some sectors New Zealand’s workforce will be hit hard. The Government can and should attach conditions to infrastructure delivery which require training, upskilling and apprenticeships of those looking for a new career. 

10.   RISK – not taking risks in the current environment, is taking risks. The Government is going to have to move quickly and responsively to a situation moving much faster than any infrastructure project. Some decisions will turn out to be wrong, others right. It will be no different for business owners. The Government must continue to exploit its size, authority and balance sheet to de-risk private sector investment and back New Zealand.

“If we implement these measures, New Zealand can tackle long standing, costly and damaging impacts from many years of high growth and weak investment. Never waste a good crisis,” says Blair.

ENDS

For further information and comment contact Paul Blair on 021 902 436

MEDIA RELEASE

“Today’s announcement of a new city in Drury, south of Auckland is very exciting and represents a much needed shift in the way New Zealand plans and funds urban growth, but it is not yet clear whether housing in the new city will be affordable or supports Government aspirations for competitive land supply,” says Infrastructure NZ CEO Paul Blair.

“The new Drury development takes some concepts from Infrastructure New Zealand’s October 2017 ‘Innovation City’ report on how to create a satellite city.

“The Government is integrating housing and employment via $2.4 billion in strategic transport links around Drury, which was announced in January as part of $6.8 billion in Government transport infrastructure investment.

“We applaud this new delivery partnership with local government and the private sector.

“The old model of permitting growth and then trying to retrofit transport and other infrastructure has resolutely failed, resulting in high infrastructure costs, constrained housing supply and poor urban outcomes.

“On the back of today’s announcements, property owners, developers and housing providers have been let off the leash and we should now see housing and development at scale and aligned with a shared vision for Auckland’s south.

“Of importance to all New Zealanders is that the $2.4 billion of Government transport investment will unlock over 40,000 homes.

“If these homes sold for Auckland’s median home value of around $900,000, $36 billion in residential development activity would be generated. The Government would yield $5.4 billion in GST alone – more than twice its transport investment.

“Add in commercial and other development and it’s no exaggeration to say that the Drury project is a $50 billion initiative built off just a $2.4 billion transport injection.

“However, while this new approach is to be commended, it is still not clear whether it will materially shift the dial on Auckland’s housing crisis.

“Auckland does not need 40,000 million-dollar homes, it needs 40,000 five hundred-thousand dollar homes.

“Unfortunately, land rezoning around Drury has been anticipated for many years, meaning land prices have already escalated in expectation of public investment.

“Construction of affordable housing will now be difficult, if not impossible, without public subsidy and developers will be under pressure to manage housing supply to maintain land values.

“For the Government to really get on top of housing in Auckland and other growth areas, more announcements like today’s will be required.

“This will generate competition in land markets, discouraging land banking and speculation, and will provide government with the ability to negotiate with land-owners for shared benefit.

“We agree with Minister Twyford that this is a very rare New Zealand example of the infrastructure ‘cart’ coming before the housing ‘horse’.

“The Government should seize the chance to scale this model up dramatically to the regional level around new, co-designed spatial plans.

“Infrastructure New Zealand calls for most of the unspent $4 billion capital allowance to be applied in the May Budget to the fifth, unfunded limb of the Crown’s Urban Growth Agenda, Urban Growth Partnerships.

“Infrastructure New Zealand’s 2019 Building Regions report provides a framework for how urban developments such as Drury can be incorporated into larger regional spatial plans to deliver cheaper, high quality housing but also co-designed and integrated schools, industrial areas, hospitals and transport links.

“If we can manage this in Drury, just imagine what cheaper, faster, better quality outcomes can be achieved for all New Zealanders through a regional growth partnership model,” Blair said.

ENDS

For further information and comment contact Paul Blair on 021 902 436 

MEDIA RELEASE

Infrastructure New Zealand members are demonstrating their commitment to improving gender equality, hosting events up and down the country in celebration of International Women’s Day 2020.

Aligning with this year’s theme of #EachforEqual, the events will showcase how a more gender equal world benefits business, communities, families and women themselves.

International Women’s Day 2020 comes just after the signing of the much-anticipated Diversity Agenda Accord, a cross-industry commitment to improve diversity and inclusion within New Zealand’s engineering and architecture sectors.

Increasing the participation of women is a vital issue within the New Zealand infrastructure sector, says Sarah Lang, founder of the Women’s Infrastructure Network, “It’s exciting to see the continued progress our industry is making in improving gender equality, but our challenge remains to maintain momentum. International Women’s Day is an important opportunity to celebrate how far we have come”.

Infrastructure New Zealand CEO Paul Blair emphasised the importance of a balanced infrastructure sector to deliver the strong pipeline of work ahead. “To achieve Infrastructure New Zealand’s vision of world class infrastructure we need more women in leadership, governance and across key roles in our industry. Infrastructure only exists to deliver key outcomes for people and to respond to community needs, so the voices of all of our society need to be heard if we are to have a more inclusive, future proofed and well performing industry.”

WIN Board Chair Margaret Devlin said it was encouraging to see the wide range of initiatives members had planned for International Women’s Day but urged the industry to maintain momentum. “It is really important that this momentum continues and embraced by all those who operate in the infrastructure sector. Of course, diversity is but one side of the equation, we also need to focus on inclusion. Only focusing on diversity without also taking steps to address inclusion will fail to create or sustain meaningful change in this very critical area. So, whilst much has been done, there is more to be done by all members of Infrastructure NZ.”

The Women’s Infrastructure Network will be celebrating International Women’s Day with networking events in Auckland and Waikato. Sarah will be speaking as part of a panel on the Future of Work hosted by British New Zealand Business Association and Hesketh Henry, for International Women’s Day, alongside Sarah Trotman, ONZM, Member at Waitemata Local Board of Auckland Council; Margaret Cox, former Irish Government Senator for 10 years and Charlotte Lockhart, 4 Day Week Global Foundation.

Infrastructure NZ member organisations are planning a raft of celebration activities for International Women’s Day, including panel discussions, staff networking events, internal and external communications and even a photography exhibition.

Infrastructure NZ applauds these member organisations and many others who are taking a proactive approach with diversity and inclusion initiatives within their organisation. “Ensuring the infrastructure sector is reflective of the wider community, and is attractive to the best and brightest minds no matter to whom they belong, will ensure we have a bright future.” says Sarah Lang.

ENDS

For further information and comment contact Paul Blair on 021 902 436.

MEDIA RELEASE

“The Government’s $12 billion infrastructure programme is a fantastic start towards building the infrastructure New Zealand needs to realise its potential,” says Infrastructure New Zealand CEO Paul Blair.

The Government announced the details for over $7 billion of its $12 billion in infrastructure spending today. Transport investments were made across New Zealand’s growth areas, with $5.3 billion allocated to road corridors (including accompanying cycle- and footpaths), $1.1 billion to rail, and nearly $400 million on the Skypath and Seapath for cycling and walking across Auckland’s Waitematā Harbour.

The announcements also included $300 million for health facilities, the previously announced $400 million for schools, and a portion of the promised $200 million for decarbonising heating at hospitals and schools.

“The infrastructure sector has been crying out for investment and a long-term pipeline, which this package delivers. The new partnership approach outlined in the Construction Sector Accord is now absolutely critical to move these plans off the page and into the hands of Kiwis,” says Blair.

Announcements about how the $4 billion Multi-Year Capital Allowance will be spent can be expected at the May Budget and the Auckland Light Rail decision is expected soon.

“The additional spending and multi-year nature of the package should provide the sector with the confidence to ramp up recruitment, training, and capital investment, with more yet to come,” says Blair.

“Te Waihanga – the NZ Infrastructure Commission – will be producing a long-term infrastructure strategy for New Zealand within the next two years that we expect will reveal tens of billions of infrastructure need across the country.

“Our water, schools, hospitals, climate resilience, defence, and housing infrastructure all have significant needs.

“Today’s announcements show central government’s funding power, however local government owns 40 per cent of our infrastructure and largely control RMA processes which are critical to delivering projects.

“We call for enhanced partnership between central and local government (including the right funding and incentives), to maximise the effectiveness of this top-down investment.

“The time is right to move our attitude from infrastructure ‘costs’ to ‘investments.’ With a strong fiscal position and low borrowing costs, there has never been a better time for a long-term, multi-partisan approach to investing in New Zealand’s future wellbeing," says Blair.

ENDS

For further information and comment contact Paul Blair on 021 902 436

MEDIA RELEASE

“News that New Zealand is the second least affordable place to buy a house, after only Hong Kong, is sadly unsurprising, and signals that a new approach is needed to get more homes built and make housing affordable,” says Infrastructure New Zealand CEO Paul Blair.

Today, Demographia released its most recent annual report into housing affordability in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, the UK, and the US.

All eight New Zealand cities were assessed as severely unaffordable, as each had median house prices over five times their median income. Affordability is assessed by a ratio of three or lower.

“Unfortunately this news is no surprise. It confirms that the problem is New Zealand-wide, and not limited to large or fast-growing cities like Auckland,” says Blair.

“From Dunedin to Auckland, the challenge of building enough homes is an enormous problem, and it’s primarily because councils are unable to pay for the infrastructure needed to bring down land prices.

“Local councils in New Zealand build and maintain almost 40% of this country’s infrastructure, primarily local roads, pipes, and sewers, which is about the same amount as the central government looks after.

“But local councils only have one tenth the amount of money to spend on it compared to central government.

“As our towns and cities grow, central government enjoys the benefit of this economic growth, while councils are legally restricted to only recovering their costs.

“Council debt constraints add to this problem and mean that councils are unable to invest in public transit, roads, and pipes where 85% of New Zealanders live.

“Infrastructure New Zealand’s Building Regions report proposes a series of partnership agreements between central government and local councils, grouped around regional spatial plans.

“Central government doesn’t have direct land use powers under the current resource management system, so local government’s ‘bottom-up’ ability to influence land use must be enabled.

“In return for central government providing local councils with a new, long-term share of national taxes, local councils can free up infrastructure-serviced land for housing in a way that meets central and local objectives for better housing affordability and choice.

“Incentivising local councils with a share of the dividends from economic growth so they can invest in infrastructure to create more economic growth and free up land for housing just makes sense.

“After all, it is central government who pays the bill when unaffordable housing puts people on the street, forces people live in damp homes, or eats away at the savings that people should have.

“Our unaffordable homes are making us poorer, less equal, and less efficient. The longer this housing crisis continues, the greater the costs to New Zealand and New Zealanders,” says Blair.

ENDS

For further information and comment contact Paul Blair on 021 902 436

MEDIA RELEASE

“Important policy and legislative developments have landed today which could enable a bolder, more streamlined way of delivering new infrastructure for the benefit all New Zealanders,” says Infrastructure New Zealand CEO Paul Blair.

“New government announcements and a Productivity Commission report this week are reiterating that New Zealand needs new ways of working together, brought together by a coherent vision, to dramatically change outcomes for the better.

“First, new Infrastructure Funding and Financing (IFF) legislation was introduced to the House today with bi-partisan support. IFF is a new, user-pays tool for funding local roading and water infrastructure.

“The biggest obstacle to adequate land supply, and therefore affordable housing, in New Zealand’s cities is that our growth councils have insufficient funding for this local infrastructure.

“IFF will provide a new way to fund infrastructure outside our traditional council-led methods, accelerating the supply of infrastructure-provisioned land instead of our cities choking at the cost of affordable housing.

“Second, the Productivity Commission’s final report on Local Government Funding and Financing, also released today, calls for greater use of volumetric charges on drinking and wastewater, as well as road pricing, which can both manage demand and raise vital infrastructure funding revenue.

“The Commission also calls on the Crown to pay their fair share of local infrastructure costs, including through rates and development charges, and to support the local costs that they benefit from (e.g., climate change costs and flood protection works).

“Third, today’s Upper North Island Supply Chain final report recommends moving the Ports of Auckland by 2034.

“Pleasingly, the Government has instructed the Ministry of Transport to investigate options and impacts and officials will work with the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission – Te Waihanga to ensure the right long-term decisions are made for New Zealand.

“Critical governance, timing, commercial, and environmental questions will be answered through this process which can bring communities, business, and iwi into this nationally important decision.

“Finally, the Environmental Defence Society released their synthesis report A model for the future last night which undertook a first-principles look at the resource management system.

“The report emphasises the need for significant revision of not just the Resource Management Act, but also local government institutions, spatial planning, and funding.

“Today’s announcements, alongside a string of further initiatives relating to water, development, and other infrastructure are part of an ambitious programme of reform.

“What is now needed is a consolidated national development plan which aligns these reforms, explains them in terms of their role in achieving the Government’s national development vision, and provides a clear direction for local government and the private sector to implement national policy.

“These important reforms will significantly change our infrastructure delivery platform. However, they are practical but short-term steps towards a coherent, long-term and nationally aligned vision for Aotearoa.

“Infrastructure New Zealand applauds the scale of ambition behind these changes, but we look forward to a national conversation about the 30+ year vision for the lives that all New Zealanders want to live and the national development plan that aligns us all to deliver that vision at pace,” says Blair.

ENDS

For further information and comment contact Paul Blair on 021 902 436