Latest news with #TeWaihanga
Scoop
11 hours ago
- Business
- Scoop
'Once-in-a-generation' National Infrastructure Plan sets vision for next 30 years
The draft National Infrastructure Plan is challenging the government to "lift its game" on project planning, saying it has often been "short-term and reactive". The strategy has been developed by the infrastructure commission, Te Waihanga, laying out the key areas in need of attention over the next three decades. Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop acknowledged the invocation and said the recommendations aligned with the government's priorities. Bishop cited the proposed shift towards user-pays, spatial planning, and better asset management and maintenance. "The government is determined to improve New Zealand's infrastructure system and to work alongside the industry and other political parties to establish a broad consensus about what needs to change," he said. The commission's chief executive Geoff Cooper said New Zealand spent a greater percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) on infrastructure compared to other high-income countries, but was in the bottom 10 percent for the value from that spend. "To ensure New Zealanders are getting the infrastructure services they need, it's critical that we get smarter about how we invest," he said. "A National Infrastructure Plan can help, showing where our infrastructure dollar will have the greatest impact in meeting New Zealand's future needs." The plan contains a "Priorities Programme List" of 17 projects, six of which relate to the Defence Force. As well, it endorses the upgrade of the Reserve Bank's cash centre and vault, and the redevelopment of Hawke's Bay Regional Prison. The commission said more investment would be needed over the next three decades in hospitals and electricity, while changes would be required in land transport investment. The draft plan laid out a litany of problems with the existing approach, including that infrastructure projects were announced before establishing whether they were affordable or achievable. "Half of the large projects seeking funding through central government's annual Budget lack business cases to demonstrate that they're ready to fund. "Maintenance funds, which should provide a steady, ongoing stream of work, may get diverted to new builds. Consequently, efforts to recruit, develop, and retain a skilled workforce are stretched" It said New Zealand needed to get smarter about infrastructure planning, and suggested easing the regulatory environment or taking a "more commercial approach". "It's time to start fixing up our essential infrastructure assets, rather than seeing them breaking under our feet because we didn't set aside money for maintenance. "It's time to invest in infrastructure that will lift our productivity and cut our carbon emissions. "It's time to do new projects right, rather than dreaming big and seeing them constantly delayed, rescoped, and cancelled because they're too big for us to afford." The plan will now go out for consultation with a final version to be published by the end of the year. Speaking at a symposium at Parliament on Wednesday morning, Bishop said the independent plan would succeed only if it was accepted and adopted by successive governments. "This is not the... coalition government's plan, this is New Zealand's plan. We will all be better off if we follow its recommendations," Bishop said. He also use his speech to take a whack at "14 laggard councils" which had not yet lodged bids with the infrastructure pipeline. "I'm going to be writing to them, saying that they need to get on board," Bishop said. "My own view is we do need to get away from the rhetoric of needing a bipartisan pipeline, and instead we need to start talking about building bipartisan consensus on the idea that governments of all flavours should use best-practice to plan, select, fund and finance, deliver, and look after our infrastructure." Infrastructure New Zealand chief executive Nick Leggett described the plan as a "once-in-a-generation" opportunity. "The draft Plan is a clear-eyed assessment of the infrastructure challenges facing New Zealand, our historic under-performance and provides a solid pathway for improvement, particularly from our government agencies," he said. "If we don't face up to this now, there will be real pain for our future generations." Leggett said the association particularly supported the design of a "steady project pipeline" to allow providers to invest in their workforce. Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the plan was a welcome contribution. "If we can agree some shared priorities, we can avoid this flip-flopping cycle where everything just takes too long and costs too much." Hipkins expected there were some assumptions in the plan that would be tested over the consultation process, and there would still be some debate over who pays for what. "Even in transport, we have partial user-pays for public transport at the moment. There's probably going to be some differences between Labour and National, in particular about where we think the balance of that should rest."
Otago Daily Times
18 hours ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
National Infrastructure Plan sets vision for next 30 years
The draft National Infrastructure Plan is challenging the government to "lift its game" on project planning, saying it has often been "short-term and reactive". The strategy has been developed by the infrastructure commission, Te Waihanga, laying out the key areas in need of attention over the next three decades. Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop acknowledged the invocation and said the recommendations aligned with the government's priorities. Bishop cited the proposed shift towards user-pays, spatial planning, and better asset management and maintenance. "The government is determined to improve New Zealand's infrastructure system and to work alongside the industry and other political parties to establish a broad consensus about what needs to change," he said. The commission's chief executive, Geoff Cooper, said New Zealand spent a greater percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) on infrastructure compared to other high-income countries, but was in the bottom 10 percent for the value from that spend. "To ensure New Zealanders are getting the infrastructure services they need, it's critical that we get smarter about how we invest," he said. "A National Infrastructure Plan can help, showing where our infrastructure dollar will have the greatest impact in meeting New Zealand's future needs." The plan contains a "Priorities Programme List" of 17 projects, six of which relate to the Defence Force. As well, it endorses the upgrade of the Reserve Bank's cash centre and vault, and the redevelopment of Hawke's Bay Regional Prison. The commission said more investment would be needed over the next three decades in hospitals and electricity, while changes would be required in land transport investment. The draft plan laid out a litany of problems with the existing approach, including that infrastructure projects were announced before establishing whether they were affordable or achievable. "Half of the large projects seeking funding through central government's annual Budget lack business cases to demonstrate that they're ready to fund. "Maintenance funds, which should provide a steady, ongoing stream of work, may get diverted to new builds. Consequently, efforts to recruit, develop, and retain a skilled workforce are stretched" It said New Zealand needed to get smarter about infrastructure planning, and suggested easing the regulatory environment or taking a "more commercial approach". "It's time to start fixing up our essential infrastructure assets, rather than seeing them breaking under our feet because we didn't set aside money for maintenance. "It's time to invest in infrastructure that will lift our productivity and cut our carbon emissions. "It's time to do new projects right, rather than dreaming big and seeing them constantly delayed, rescoped, and cancelled because they're too big for us to afford." The plan will now go out for consultation with a final version to be published by the end of the year. Infrastructure New Zealand chief executive Nick Leggett described the plan as a "once-in-a-generation" opportunity. "The draft Plan is a clear-eyed assessment of the infrastructure challenges facing New Zealand, our historic under-performance and provides a solid pathway for improvement, particularly from our government agencies," he said. "If we don't face up to this now, there will be real pain for our future generations." Leggett said the association particularly supported the design of a "steady project pipeline" to allow providers to invest in their workforce.
Scoop
19 hours ago
- Business
- Scoop
Have Your Say On 30-year Plan For NZ's Infrastructure Investment
The New Zealand Infrastructure Commission, Te Waihanga, has revealed its first look at how New Zealand needs to invest to get the roads, hospitals, schools and other infrastructure we will rely on to live and thrive over the next 30 years. The Commission's draft National Infrastructure Plan looks at the infrastructure New Zealand already has and how factors like an ageing population and climate change will drive future demands. It shows what we should be spending and makes recommendations for how we can get better results from this investment. Te Waihanga CE Geoff Cooper says that compared to other high-income countries, New Zealand already spends a greater percentage of GDP on infrastructure but is in the bottom 10 percent for the value we get from that spend. "To ensure New Zealanders are getting the infrastructure services they need, it's critical that we get smarter about how we invest. "A National Infrastructure Plan can help, showing where our infrastructure dollar will have the greatest impact in meeting New Zealand's future needs," says Cooper. We need to be ambitious "Some of our most essential infrastructure has already been built, but we're not always good at looking after it. Overall, we should be spending around 60 percent of our infrastructure investment on looking after what we've already got," says Cooper. The way we invest in new infrastructure will also need to change: We will need more investment in our hospitals. An ageing population means a greater need for hospitals. At the same time, we'll see a relative reduction in demand in the need for new schools and university buildings. We will need to invest more in electricity. To reach net zero by 2050 we need to increase electricity use by over 60 percent, boosting electricity-using industries and replacing fossil fuel use across the economy. We will see changes in how we invest in land transport. Investment in land transport - our roads, public transport, and railways - has increased over the past 20 years. In many parts of the sector, the pace of investment is expected to moderate as the population ages and the relative importance of income growth as a demand driver eases. The cost of responding to natural hazards will rise as we build more infrastructure to higher standards and bring forward renewals following a rising prevalence of extreme weather events. Improving our infrastructure planning "As we have heard from many in the sector, infrastructure policy and investment has experienced a lot of churn in recent electoral cycles. This perceived 'stop-start' approach can be costly for large projects and ongoing investment programmes. "The draft Plan provides recommendations on how we can get a more consistent and affordable approach and clear the way for delivering the infrastructure we need. It also makes recommendations on how we can better prioritise taking care of what we've got and optimise maintenance cycles so that we have more for new infrastructure. These changes can give the sector the certainty it needs to plan ahead, improve productivity, and create the jobs needed to maintain and deliver our infrastructure," Cooper says. Identifying projects that can make a difference The draft Plan shares the results of the first round of the Infrastructure Priorities Programme (IPP). The IPP takes proposals through an independent process to prove they offer bang for buck and meet a critical need. "While endorsed proposals aren't guaranteed funding, they give decision-makers confidence that these proposals have been independently assessed. "Proposals in the IPP were submitted to the Commission by central government, local government and the private sector. "We expect the list to grow as we receive submissions over future rounds," Cooper says. We want to hear from you "We want the National Infrastructure Plan to help build common ground about our areas of need and what is affordable for Kiwis, giving the Government of the day guidance for making decisions about infrastructure. "This is too important not to get right and too big a job to do alone. This is why we're seeking feedback now, while the Plan is still a draft. Tell us what you think and what we've missed." You can read more and have your say on our website ( this page will be updated from 10am Wednesday 25 June): Some key facts Over the last 20 years New Zealand's average spend on infrastructure is 5.8% of GDP. Crown investment as a share of GDP accounts for about 40% of this, or 2.5% of GDP. More recently, between 2010 and 2019, New Zealand spent more per capita than any other OECD country on infrastructure. The quality of our infrastructure lags, relative to what we spend on it. High-level comparisons suggest that New Zealand has among the lowest infrastructure spending 'bang for buck' in the OECD. We estimate that for most sectors, simply renewing and replacing what we have will consume the majority of our investment dollars over the next 30 years. For most sectors, this is 60% of infrastructure investment on average, but can be up to 80% in some sectors like education. After spending on renewals and replacements, we will have between 2% and 3% of GDP left over for new and improved infrastructure each year, or about $10 to $12 billion per year on average. For central government, this is between 0.5% and 1% of GDP. In dollar terms, this is about $3 to $4 billion per year on average across all types of infrastructure central government provides. The draft Plan is underpinned by a number of technical reports that have also been published on our website. The Commission has also released assessment information from round one of the Infrastructure Priorities Programme.
RNZ News
20 hours ago
- Business
- RNZ News
'Once-in-a-generation' National Infrastructure Plan sets vision for next 30 years
The draft National Infrastructure Plan will now go out for consultation with a final version to be published by the end of the year. Photo: Supplied/ Unsplash - Josh Olalde The draft National Infrastructure Plan is challenging the government to "lift its game" on project planning, saying it has often been "short-term and reactive". The strategy has been developed by the new infrastructure commission, Te Waihanga, laying out the key areas in need of attention over the next three decades. Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop acknowledged the invocation and said the recommendations aligned with the government's priorities. Bishop cited the proposed shift towards user-pays, spatial planning, and better asset management and maintenance. "The government is determined to improve New Zealand's infrastructure system and to work alongside the industry and other political parties to establish a broad consensus about what needs to change," he said. The commission's chief executive Geoff Cooper said New Zealand spent a greater percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) on infrastructure compared to other high-income countries, but was in the bottom 10 percent for the value from that spend. "To ensure New Zealanders are getting the infrastructure services they need, it's critical that we get smarter about how we invest," he said. "A National Infrastructure Plan can help, showing where our infrastructure dollar will have the greatest impact in meeting New Zealand's future needs." The commission said more investment would be needed over the next three decades in hospitals and electricity, while changes would be required in land transport investment. The draft plan laid out a litany of problems with the existing approach, including that infrastructure projects were announced before establishing whether they were affordable or achievable. "Half of the large projects seeking funding through central government's annual Budget lack business cases to demonstrate that they're ready to fund. "Maintenance funds, which should provide a steady, ongoing stream of work, may get diverted to new builds. Consequently, efforts to recruit, develop, and retain a skilled workforce are stretched" It said New Zealand needed to get smarter about infrastructure planning, and suggested easing the regulatory environment or taking a "more commercial approach". "It's time to start fixing up our essential infrastructure assets, rather than seeing them breaking under our feet because we didn't set aside money for maintenance. "It's time to invest in infrastructure that will lift our productivity and cut our carbon emissions. "It's time to do new projects right, rather than dreaming big and seeing them constantly delayed, rescoped, and cancelled because they're too big for us to afford." The plan will now go out for consultation with a final version to be published by the end of the year. Infrastructure New Zealand chief executive Nick Leggett described the plan as a "once-in-a-generation" opportunity. "The draft Plan is a clear-eyed assessment of the infrastructure challenges facing New Zealand, our historic under-performance and provides a solid pathway for improvement, particularly from our government agencies," he said. "If we don't face up to this now, there will be real pain for our future generations." Leggett said the association particularly supported the design of a "steady project pipeline" to allow providers to invest in their workforce. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
10-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
How To Be A Better Infrastructure Client
Press Release – AsiaPacific Infrastructure Two new pieces of research from the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission | Te Waihanga highlight some failings in our approaches to infrastructure delivery and where we can improve. The papers, Delivering Better Value and Better Outcomes and Towards Better Contracts, suggest new ways that can bring us better value and better outcomes from what we build, the Commission says. Delivering Better Value and Better Outcomes looks at the challenges with traditional project-by-project, outsourced procurement models and identifies seven principles that delivery agencies can utilise to become more sophisticated clients. It makes the case that longer-term more collaborative partnerships can improve outcomes, subject to infrastructure clients retaining the appropriate in-house capability and expertise to manage contracts effectively. Towards Better Contracts provides a summary of interviews conducted with infrastructure contracting professionals in the public and private sectors around current practices, and barriers to better contracting and contract management as a means to better project outcomes. It aims to increase transparency and awareness of current procurement practice challenges. Delivering better value and better outcomes New Zealand's traditional approach to infrastructure delivery has often relied on lowest-price tenders to deliver public value. We have pursued a project-by-project process, focused on lowest price, risk-transfer and adversarial commercial relationships – an approach which has not delivered efficiency, stability or reliability of results. This report looks to international approaches to infrastructure delivery, with a focus on the best practices principles that have emerged from the UK. The UK has created a collaborative framework for delivery, which better leverages the experience and ability of construction partners. This reduces costs and improves infrastructure outcomes. The paper is aimed at public sector organisations who manage, plan, deliver, and maintain infrastructure – particularly decision makers responsible for or involved with procurement decisions and/or supply chain management. It will also interest suppliers and advisors of infrastructure client organisations. Towards better contracts This report provides a summary of interviews conducted with infrastructure contracting professionals in the public and private sectors around current contracting practices. It aims to increase transparency and awareness of current procurement practice challenges. Te Waihanga interviewed 26 government construction contract participants to investigate current contracting practices. This included people working in the legal, procurement, project management, and design/engineering space. The interviews were conducted in 2023, and found that agencies' capability as infrastructure clients was generally limited and lacking across the sector. Key findings: The knowledge, level of experience, capability, and behaviours of individuals acting in key contract administration roles has a significant impact on project outcomes. However, few agencies had any strategic processes or evaluation structure in use when selecting individuals for key contract delivery roles. Despite an increasing general awareness of the benefits from fair and clear risk transfer and collaboration, little has changed in procurement and contracting practice between 2018 and 2023. Special conditions are still being used extensively to customise contracts to specific agencies, rather than having a standard set of special conditions across government. Collaborative contracting can lead to improved contract performance and better project outcomes, but uptake is low. A sense that procurement, specifically the tender stage, was somewhat disconnected from the overall project delivery, and all interviewees (client and contractor) considered continuity of representation throughout the procurement and delivery process to be beneficial to the contract outcomes. Dispute resolution processes within contracts are seen as a last resort, expensive, and often producing unsatisfactory outcomes.
