New Zealand Government Responds to National Infrastructure Plan with 16 Key Actions

The Government has released its formal response to the independent National Infrastructure Plan, setting out how it will respond to the Infrastructure Commission’s sixteen recommendations.

Delivering and maintaining better infrastructure is a key part of the Government’s plan to fix the basics and build the future New Zealanders both need and deserve.

The Commission’s National Infrastructure Plan, released in February, sets out a 30-year view of how New Zealand can improve the way it plans, funds, maintains and delivers infrastructure.

The release of the Plan in February was a sobering wake-up call for many people. New Zealand spends a lot on infrastructure – around 5.8 per cent 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.

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.

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.

The Government is taking action on all ten of the priorities identified by the Commission, including progressing time of use pricing, fleetwide road user charges, a National Adaptation Framework, lifting hospital investment, integrated spatial planning, and upzoning around key transport corridors.

In April, the Government announced five key changes to the Investment Management System, reflecting the Commission’s recommendations in the Plan. Responsibility for coordinating external assurance on central government-funded infrastructure projects will shift from the Treasury to the Commission, and the Commission will establish a dedicated assurance function for capital-intensive agencies, covering infrastructure asset management and long-term investment planning.

The Government has agreed to support all sixteen of the Commission’s recommendations (three in principle, with further work to be done). In addition to the work already underway, the Government has agreed to four further actions.

The Government will review the land transport funding system.

The Government agrees with the problems identified by the Commission with investment, pricing and delivery settings in land transport. The new Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport (MCERT) will review the system and develop proposals, to be publicly consulted on by June 2028 (as recommended in the Plan), Mr Bishop says.

2. The Government will legislate for departments and Crown Entities to publish long-term investment plans and to report on asset management The Government is determined to lift the quality of long-term investment planning and asset management and our view is that legislation is ultimately required to help fix this problem. Legislation will be developed in 2027 and involve amendments to the Public Finance Act and Crown Entities Act.

3. The Government will require infrastructure providers to maintain up-to-date data in the National Infrastructure Pipeline and strengthen data quality over time Comprehensive information about current and future projects is very valuable. In the short-term, the Government will require all central government agencies to participate in the National Infrastructure Pipeline. The Commission will be able to set standards for data inputs. The Commission will also be undertaking further work to assess options for strengthening the Pipeline mandate through legislation, including a framework for providers to create, collate, store and supply information.

4. The Government will take a series of actions to strengthen public sector project leadership Success in public infrastructure depends heavily on the capability of project leaders. The Public Service Commission and Infrastructure Commission will be jointly developing a professional standard for public sector leadership, building a cross-agency directory of Senior Responsible Owners, and establishing a nationally recognised professional benchmark for critical leadership roles.

The Government’s Response to the Plan will be tabled in Parliament this week and I intend to ask Parliament’s Business Committee to hold a special debate in Parliament so all parties can discuss it, Mr Bishop says.

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.

Notes to editors: The New Zealand Infrastructure Commission’s National Infrastructure Plan is available at: https://tewaihanga.govt.nz/national-infrastructure-plan The Government’s response to the National Infrastructure Plan is attached.