Carl Bates in MP mode at a Select Committee.
Carl Bates is MP for Whanganui
OPINION
Make no bones about it, New Zealand is suffering from a large infrastructure deficit.
What that means is that we don’t have enough roads, rail, schools, hospitals, and pieces of infrastructure that support our population, and handle future growth. This is harming our productivity, and it also stifles economic growth.
It simply can’t continue, and that’s why our Government is making the tough decisions, and taking bold action to turn it around. Budget 2024 completed a record investment into infrastructure.
We’re also investing $2.68 billion in roads, rail, and public transport to unlock economic growth and enable Kiwis and freight to get to where they need to quickly and safely.
In the Whanganui electorate, our investment in public transport has increased by around 50%, and we have set aside funding for the repair of potholes on state highways and local roads.
The infrastructure investment includes 17 new Roads of National Significance, including Ōtaki to north of Levin. Funding of $1.5 billion has gone into property works for school and kura, so kids can learn in safe and warm environments, the biggest investment in school maintenance in three years.
These infrastructure investments are critical in addressing and turning around decades of deficit and decay.
A vital step we are taking is to create a 30-year pipeline for infrastructure work. This will provide a national view of projects being planned, offer an assessment of infrastructure priorities, and will be able to showcase a stable and secure pipeline of work to attract consistent investment in New Zealand.
Having a transparent 30-year pipeline will deliver more long-term certainty, enable more effective planning, and reduce project costs.
Lastly, our fast-track legislation is going to provide a foundational reset of how we consent and deliver infrastructure projects in New Zealand.
It is too hard to get things built in this country. Consenting processes cost $1.3 billion a year, and the time taken to obtain a consent has nearly doubled in the last five years.
Our new regime is built on the system developed by the previous Labour Government and provides a one-stop-shop regime to fast-track consents for projects of regional and national significance. This will cut red tape and make it easier to build the big stuff we need to reduce our infrastructure deficit.
We are aware that this bill has faced criticism – and we are open to sensible ideas and suggestions to change the regime. and we will be looking carefully at the feedback from the select committee.
In our first eight months in government, we have made massive strides in addressing the foundational problems that affect everyday New Zealanders.
We need to build world-class infrastructure so that we can turbocharge investment and foster economic growth.
When we do this, it enables us to be able to reinvest in the public services that New Zealanders deserve, so that we can continue getting our country back on track.