The government is committed to its infrastructure investment plans across New Zealand over the next four years, despite funding pressures caused by the Canterbury Earthquakes, Infrastructure Minister Bill English and Transport Minister Stephen Joyce said on Monday afternoon.
Releasing the government's latest infrastructure plan, English and Joyce said NZ$17 billion would be spent on infrastructure over the next four years on top of the NZ$5.5 billion it had set aside for rebuilding in Canterbury.
The plan would see NZ$7.6 billion spent on social assets like schools, hospitals, state houses and prisons, NZ$6.5 billion on roads, and about NZ$1.5 billion each on broadband and rail, it was announced today.
However embargoed documents provided to media before the release time of 4pm Monday did not include the government's plan for how the spending would be implemented. Instead, a 57-page document outlined how important it was for the government to invest in infrastructure, giving broad overviews of where spending would be focussed.
Today's plan follows the government's first infrastructure plan released in March last year, in which the government signalled its intention to focus on roads of national significance (RoNS), ultra-fast and rural broadband, regulatory reform to legislation such as the Resource Mangement Act, and a plan to invest in KiwiRail. The next plan is set to be released in 2014.
Today's plan sets out what it says is a 20-year 'vision' for infrastructure investment in New Zealand, although, again, an implementation plan was not provided with other documents before the public announcement.
In their foreword to the plan, English and Joyce say the government has prioritised work in the next three years on the following areas:
- Working with Canterbury infrastructure providers to rebuild infrastructure to get the economy workking again as well as considering how to build greater resilience.
- Providing a comprehensive approach to investment in Auckland which is fair to all New Zealanders, and which helps implement government responsibilities through the Auckland Spatial Plan.
- Achieving significant improvement in the management of government owned social infrastructure assets to deliver better services to the public and explore alternative procurement methods.
- Focusing land transport investment on supporting exporters (eg completing RoNS and improved rail services to ports).
- Improving the ability to monitor performance across all infrastructure sectors.
"The plan shows New Zealand's infrastructure is generally improving, with less red tape, more major investment in the roading, rail, telecommunications and electricity networks and specific projects to support the Rugby World Cup," English said in a media release.
"New Zealand faces some major challenges, including rebuilding Canterbury, but we remain committed to investment throughout the country and are continuing to look for new projects that lift productivity and growth," he said.
"However we must manage our large asset base better and ensure future investment goes into areas that deliver the greatest benefits to the economy."
Government assets were forecast to grow by NZ$34 billion to NZ$258 billion by 2015, English said. This would be just above 3% annual inflation in each of the next four years.
Selling up to 49% in State Owned Enterprises Meridian Energy, Mighty River Power, Genesis Energy and Solid Energy was one of a number of ways to raise and allocate government capital for its infrastructure plans.
"On coming into office, the Government moved immediately to unclog our economic arteries by boosting investment in productive infrastructure and improving the regulatory environment," English said.
"We've invested heavily in the last three Budgets in infrastructure like schools and ultra fast broadband - alongside record investments in our electricity and State Highway networks. We've also improved the way the Government plans, consents and finances infrastructure by reforming the Resource Management Act, improving spending disciplines and making greater use of public-private partnerships," he said.
"The National Infrastructure Plan delivers on our promise to ensure stakeholders have a better sense of the Government's intentions across a range of sectors so they can make their own decisions to meet future demand."
The latest plan can be viewed online at www.infrastructure.govt.nz/plan/2011.
11 Comments
Governments always boast about how much money they spend but never give any indication of how effective this spending has been. A good example was the last Labour Government who annually increased health spending. However by any standard the actual health of NZ'ers was actually deteriorating e.g. obesity.
You will not be able to value the splurge until well after any work is finished..although there will be heaps of spin and BS claiming great savings and stupendous payback.
It is a mixture of Keynesian porking of the market on borrowed loot, always risky( remember the bridge to nowhere!) and all about job creation or the promise thereof....and a stab in the dark at getting investment into the one place that boosts the economy in a real way....plus a wee bit of work for the boys in the construction sector.
If you look at the waste splurged on that wooden shed called govt house...you will get a clear picture of where the $17billion will go.
What's the bet technology will make a giant leap leaving broadband fibre optics in the stone age...!
English and Joyce said NZ$17 billion would be spent on infrastructure over the next four years on top of the NZ$5.5 billion it had set aside for rebuilding in Canterbury
How much is it just repeating spending that has already been announced .... several times e.g. the roads of national significance complete with their really bad benefit-cost ratios?
Oh goody, goody, goody... we might get another cycle-way from North Cape to Bluff. Just imagine it, a two lane cycle-way the length of the country!!! That should get things moving. Fiddling with the infrastructure while the economy burns. When will this government break the seal on that bottle of unpleasant economic medicine it knows it has to dispense? Methinks their collective Y fronts are empty.
English and Joyce said NZ$17 billion would be spent on infrastructure over the next four years on top of the NZ$5.5 billion it had set aside for rebuilding in Canterbury.
I think these numbers should be the other way around $17 billion on Canterbury Earthquake, 5.5 billion on the national cylceway...
Selling up to 49% in State Owned Enterprises Meridian Energy, Mighty River Power, Genesis Energy and Solid Energy was one of a number of ways to raise and allocate government capital for its infrastructure plans.
EH?
Even Obelix would see through that one.
Selling off the petrol tank to finance the turbo.
Brilliant!
Message to Kate --- I think you are right on the Money --- This Government has done SWEET ALL to create any jobs at all ---all that has happened is that a huge number of jobs have been lost ---- the Unemployment Numbers must be getting up there.
We badly need some more Export Industries--that not only create jobs but produce Export Income.
I note that the Owners of Charlies Fruit Juice have sold out to a Japanese Company. If you look to Australia you will see that they are ruing the day that they have sold out their ownership of their Big Breweries ----Lion-Nathan (also Part NZ shareholder owned) sold to the Japanese Kirin ---and now another big Aussie Brewery is about to be sold.
The Japanese make a big offer --with a substantial amount over the current share price--and the shareholders fold and take the money. The profit then goes off-shore. The Japanese don't usually buy an unprofitable company.
The Other Big Issue is the huge reduction that the National Government has taken out of Research Spend. All Big Successful --USA Corporates --put a % of Turnover in Research and Development.
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