The New Zealand council for infrastructure development (NZCID) has called for New Zealand to “up its game’ by becoming more ambitious and coordinated in its approach to investment to compete with Australia and the UK for skills and capital.
NZCID chief executive Stephen Selwood says initiatives such as the creation of a National Infrastructure Unit have resulted in improved understanding of national infrastructure needs and strengthened central monitoring and oversight.
“One of the most significant changes is the current and planned investment in very large city and nation building mega projects such as the Canterbury rebuild and Auckland’s City Rail Link and Waitemata Harbour Crossing.
“Where global infrastructure leaders like Australia and the UK are heading, however, goes far beyond the approach taken in New Zealand, to date,”
“Because of the pressure that outcome-driven nationally significant projects place on budgets, they are financed to the greatest extent possible by private capital – not only domestically, but from the Middle East, Europe, Asia and the world.
“The private sector is a partner in planning and funding. Major public transport infrastructure receives heavy subsidies from land developers who benefit from improved accessibility.
“Public investment is used to de-risk or catalyse private investment aligned to public objectives. This shifts the burden of cost as far as possible to private investors who directly benefit from improved services and away from taxpayers for whom benefits are more widely spread.
“The complexity of decision making and expertise required to match public service outcomes with private property market expectations has resulted in an almost complete shift to independent decision making bodies. Special purpose companies or independent statutory agencies oversee project procurement and delivery in established markets, not Government departments which are influenced by often slow and unpredictable political decision making processes.
“In both Australia and the UK the potential of public agencies to promote national objectives through carefully conceived provision of essential services in partnership with the private sector is well advanced on current practice in New Zealand.
