The Government has agreed to support all 16 recommendations contained in the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission’s National Infrastructure Plan, including a review of the land transport funding system and new requirements for agencies to improve long-term infrastructure planning.
Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop says the Government’s response builds on work already underway to improve how New Zealand plans, funds and delivers infrastructure.
“The Government is determined to do better. Over the last two years we’ve started to fix the basics of the system and it is encouraging that 11 of the 16 recommendations in the Plan reflect work we already have underway,” Bishop says.
“I am also encouraged that the Labour and Green Party infrastructure spokespeople have both written forewords for the Government Response, endorsing the National Infrastructure Plan and broadly endorsing the Government’s response.”
Released in February, the National Infrastructure Plan sets out a 30-year roadmap for improving infrastructure delivery and management across New Zealand.
Bishop says the report highlighted significant challenges facing the country.
“New Zealand spends a lot on infrastructure – around 5.8% of GDP annually over the last 20 years, one of the highest in the OECD – yet we rank towards the bottom for efficiency, and fourth to last in the OECD for asset management.”
“Many central government agencies do not properly understand what they own or have long-term investment plans. The cost of addressing our existing infrastructure deficit far outstrips our ability to pay, so we need to be smart about where and how we invest.”
Among the Government’s new commitments is a review of the land transport funding system, to be led by the new Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport (MCERT).
“The Government agrees with the problems identified by the Commission with investment, pricing and delivery settings in land transport,” Bishop says.
MCERT will develop proposals for public consultation by June 2028.
The Government also plans to legislate for departments and Crown entities to publish long-term investment plans and report on asset management performance.
“Legislation will be developed in 2027 and involve amendments to the Public Finance Act and Crown Entities Act,” Bishop says.
Other measures include requiring infrastructure providers to maintain up-to-date information in the National Infrastructure Pipeline and strengthening project leadership capability across the public sector.
The Government says it is already progressing several priorities identified in the plan, including time-of-use pricing, fleetwide road user charges, a National Adaptation Framework, increased hospital investment, integrated spatial planning and upzoning around key transport corridors.
In April, the Government also announced changes to the Investment Management System, including shifting responsibility for coordinating external assurance on major government-funded infrastructure projects from Treasury to the Infrastructure Commission.
Bishop says the Government’s response will be tabled in Parliament and he intends to seek a special parliamentary debate on the plan.
“I would like to thank the Infrastructure Commission, particularly chief executive Geoff Cooper, for their hard work in preparing this excellent blueprint for New Zealand’s infrastructure future,” he says.
