Summarised by Centrist
New Zealand spends more on infrastructure than most countries but ranks among the worst for efficiency and asset management, according to the government’s response to a new 30-year national plan.
Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop said New Zealand’s average infrastructure spending of 5.8% of GDP placed it in the top 10% of countries.
However, the country ranked in the bottom 10% for infrastructure efficiency and fourth-to-last for asset management.
Bishop described the findings as a “sobering wake-up call”.
The government has fully accepted 13 of the Infrastructure Commission’s 16 recommendations, with the remaining three supported in principle.
Labour and the Greens have also backed the plan, giving it unusually broad support across Parliament.
The plan aims to reduce the repeated cancellation, delay and redesign of major projects whenever governments change.
Labour infrastructure spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said successive governments had “announced projects without funding them, watched costs balloon, and scrapped what the other side started”.
“Every time the plan changes, we lose time, we lose money, and we lose the skilled people who build these things,” he said.
The government has agreed to require agencies and Crown entities to publish long-term investment and asset-management plans, improve infrastructure data and strengthen leadership standards for major
public projects.
Further work is still required on predictable government funding, multi-year budgets and co-ordinated workforce planning.
Treasury and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment are expected to report back in June 2027, after the election.
Bishop said previous infrastructure plans had been produced in 2010, 2011 and 2015, but many of their recommendations remained unresolved.
“New Zealand now has a clear plan,” he said. “The next step is action.”
