Source: Radio New Zealand
Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop. RNZ / Nathan McKinnon
- The Infrastructure Commission has released the country’s first National Infrastructure Plan
- Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop requested the plan and is pushing for cross-party buy-in
- The plan sets out 16 recommendations, and 10 priorities for the next decade
The country’s first National Infrastructure Plan has landed, laying out an ‘affordable’ plan to tackle the country’s infrastructure woes.
The 226-page report discusses “formidable challenges” to New Zealand’s roads, water pipes, power lines, hospitals, schools and courts.
It said building and maintaining infrastructure was becoming more expensive as climate change was making the natural hazard risks more severe.
On top of this, much of what had been built in the past decades was wearing out and needed to be replaced, the report said.
Infrastructure Commission chief executive Geoff Cooper said the plan set out a practical, affordable pathway to deliver the infrastructure the country needed over the next 30 years.
Infrastructure Commission chief executive Geoff Cooper. Supplied / Infrastructure Commission
“While the plan looks at the long term, it’s clear that we need to take action now. Weather events and infrastructure failures make very clear the importance of investing to renew and build resilience into the networks that sustain our way of life.
“We can’t keep doing what we’ve always done. Each year we invest just over $20 billion on infrastructure, yet on a dollar-for-dollar basis we achieve less than many of our more efficient international peers.”
Cooper said the plan was “ambitous, but centred on affordability” to give decision makers a clear, system-wide picture of where pressures were emerging and where investment would deliver the greatest value.
The National Infrastructure Plan’s 16 recommendations (detailed version below)
1. Needs-based capital allowances
2. Land transport funding and oversight
3. Long-term investment planning
4. Predictable government funding signals
5. Multi-year budgeting
6. Asset management performance reporting
7. System-wide assurance
8. Asset management assurance
9. Investment readiness assurance
10. Project information coordination
11. Stable resource management framework
12. Integrated spatial planning
13. Optimised infrastructure use
14. Accelerated electricity investment
15. Coordinated workforce development
16. Public sector project leadership
Rockfall on a South Westland road. NZ Transport Agency / Waka Kotahi
Cooper said the plan charted an affordable way to meet a diverse set of infrastructure demands over time and identified how to best prioritise and sequence a large programme of significant investments such as roads, rapid transit, and hospitals.
“The plan demonstrates a fundable and affordable programme of works that futureproofs existing services, while incrementally building on the network as the country grows and develops,” he said.
“A plan by itself won’t change anything. The National Infrastructure Plan charts the course, but progress depends on how decision-makers, delivery agencies, industry, and communities use the plan to do things differently.
The National Infrastructure Plan’s 10 priorities for the next decade (detailed version below)
1. Lift hospital investment for an ageing population
2. Complete catch up on renewals in the water sector and restore affordability
3. Implement time of use charging and fleetwide road user charges
4. Prioritise and sequence major land transport projects
5. Manage assets on the downside
6. Prioritise adequate maintenance and renewals
7. Identify cost-effective flood risk infrastructure
8. Commit to a durable resource management framework
9. Commit to upzoning around key transport corridors
10. Take a predictable approach to electrify the economy
Responding to the release of the report, Bishop said delivering and maintaining better infrastructure was a key part of the coalition’s plan to fix the basics and build the future.
“The government has spent a lot of time in the last two years making a start on fixing the basics of our system, but there is a lot more to do.
“The Investment Management System has been strengthened, long-term investment plans are beginning to be developed, and ministers are demanding higher quality information from agencies.
“We have launched a comprehensive programme of work to improve asset management in the public sector.”
Bishop said the coalition would study each of the recommendations carefully and publish its response to the plan in June 2026.
The Dunedin Hospital build site in 2024. RNZ/Tess Brunton
“As part of our response to the National Infrastructure Plan I intend to engage with other political parties in Parliament.
“Infrastructure Commission officials will make briefings available to parties who wish to take a deeper dive into the detail behind the recommendations, and I will be writing to Parliament’s Business Committee seeking time for a special debate on the plan.
“Infrastructure lasts for generations. Where we can build durable consensus, we should.
“Fixing the basics and building the future of New Zealand infrastructure is central to lifting living standards and driving our prosperity. The National Infrastructure Plan is a great contribution to this shared agenda for everyone in New Zealand. Now it is up to all of us to do the hard work required to turn ambition into delivery.”
The commission consulted on a draft plan last year before giving the final report to Bishop on 22 December 2025.
The National Infrastructure Plan’s 16 recommendations (detailed version)
1. Needs-based capital allowances: Ensure fiscal strategy and capital allowances are informed by the commission’s independent assessment of long-term needs and agencies’ infrastructure asset management and investment plans.
2. Land transport funding and oversight: Reform the land transport funding and investment oversight system to ensure financial sustainability and enhance economic and social outcomes by aligning investment expectations with available revenue and strengthening efficiency and accountability in delivery.
3. Long-term investment planning: Introduce legislative requirements for capital-intensive central government agencies to prepare and publish longterm investment and asset management plans aligned with the government’s fiscal strategy.
4. Predictable government funding signals: Extend the horizon over which governments plan their infrastructure funding intentions and communicate these intentions to agencies and the public.
5. Multi-year budgeting: Adopt multi-year budgeting arrangements that leverage and reinforce high-quality infrastructure planning, delivery and asset management practices.
6. Asset management performance reporting: Require, through legislation, capital-intensive central government agencies to report on asset information and asset management performance, including progress against their investment and asset management plans.
7. System-wide assurance: Establish a consolidated assurance function that provides ministers with a system-wide view of infrastructure planning, delivery, and asset management performance and risk.
8. Asset management assurance: Establish an assurance function for capital-intensive central government agencies covering asset management and investment planning activities.
9. Investment readiness assurance: Strengthen investment assurance by applying a transparent, independent readiness assessment to major government-funde investment proposals.
10. Project information coordination: Require all infrastructure providers to maintain up-to-date data in the National Infrastructure Pipeline and strengthen arrangements for improving data quality over time.
11. Stable resource management framework: Commit to maintaining a stable legislative framework for resource management that enables infrastructure development while managing environmental impacts.
12. Integrated spatial planning: Ensure spatial planning within the resource management system aligns infrastructure investment with land-use planning and regulation.
13. Optimised infrastructure use: Set land-use policies to enable maximum efficient use of existing and new infrastructure.
14. Accelerated electricity investment: Establish clear, consistent, and coordinated government policies to accelerate electricity infrastructure investment that supports economic growth and emissions reduction.
15. Coordinated workforce development: Align workforce development planning and policy with infrastructure investment and asset management plans and the commission’s independent view of longterm needs.
16. Public sector project leadership: Strengthen public sector project leadership through a consistent, system-wide approach to appointing, developing, and supporting infrastructure leaders.
Discharge from pipes in Taharoa. Waikato Regional Council / Supplied
The National Infrastructure Plan’s 10 priorities for the next decade (detailed version)
1. Lift hospital investment for an ageing population: Increase investment as a share of GDP to address ageing population demands and maintenance backlogs through clear long-term planning.
2. Complete catch up on renewals in the water sector and restore affordability: Sector affordability can be restored through national guidance on demand management, resourcing the economic regulator and providing assurance over investment proposals.
3. Implement time of use charging and fleetwide road user charges: This is essential for improving the efficiency of our urban road networks, particularly in congested cities.
4. Prioritise and sequence major land transport projects: Restore affordability by timing major road and rapid transit investments based on demonstrated demand and cost benchmarking, while using low-cost and targeted improvements first to lift network performance.
5. Manage assets on the downside: Actively plan for declining demand scenarios arising from changing demographics, technology and climate change, and explore asset recycling opportunities within portfolios to maintain value and affordability.
6. Prioritise adequate maintenance and renewals: Central government agencies must prioritise adequate funding to prevent asset deterioration and costly reactive fixes.
7. Identify cost-effective flood risk infrastructure: Climate change will intensify flooding and impact infrastructure, requiring effective community risk management approaches.
8. Commit to a durable resource management framework: New Zealand needs a durable legislative framework with spatial planning and national standards that can evolve through incremental amendments.
9. Commit to upzoning around key transport corridors: This will lead to more efficient use of water and other networks and maximise the value of transport infrastructure investments.
10. Take a predictable approach to electrify the economy: Achieving electrification and net zero carbon targets requires predictable market rules and policy settings rather than non-commercial government investment in electricity supply.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
