Bishop outlines challenges for new National Infrastructure Agency while Collins names woman as Army chief
Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop announced plans for the establishment later this year of the National Infrastructure Agency, unlocking access to more capital for infrastructure and strengthening the Government’s private finance and commercial capability, when he addressed the Building Nations 2024 conference.
He also informed his audience about the National Infrastructure Plan.
The challenges to be met are:
- constant cost overruns and delays on projects,
- instances of unreliable and unsafe infrastructure,
- construction companies and workers who don’t want to stay here, and
- a $100 billion dollar infrastructure gap.
Defence Minister Judith Collins’s announced Brigadier Rose King’s promotion to major general.
King thus becomes the first woman to be appointed a service chief in New Zealand’s armed forces, and the first to reach the rank of major general.
King has been acting chief of army since June, and before that was deputy
Commodore Garin Golding will be promoted to rear admiral, taking charge of the navy from Rear Admiral David Proctor.
Both King and Golding will be appointed for three years from 27 August, along with Air Vice-Marshal Darryn ‘Digby’ Webb who has been chief of air force since last year.
All three will report to Defence Force Chief Air Marshal Tony Davies, who took over from Air Marshal Kevin Short in June.
“These accomplished leaders are the New Zealand Defence Force’s (NZDF) most senior officers in their service, bringing a wealth of experience and strategic insight and being dedicated to serving our country,” Collins says.
Two ministers shared the job of announcing a new national radio network “that will provide emergency responders with the modern, resilient, secure radio communications technology they need”.
Mark Mitchell, Minister of Emergency Management and Recovery, and Brooke van Velden, Minister of Internal Affairs, said this is the first component of the Public Safety Network Land Mobile Radio (LMR) network. It is a pilot area in South Canterbury consisting of eight digital radio transmission sites.
Latest from the Beehive
28 August 2024
The Coalition Government today welcomed the launch of a new national radio network that will provide emergency responders with the modern, resilient, secure radio communications technology they need, says Emerge
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced Commodore Garin Golding, Brigadier Rose King and Air Vice-Marshal Darryn Webb as the chiefs of the Navy, Army and Air Force respectively.
Speech
28 August 2024
Introduction and acknowledgements
The 30-year National Infrastructure Plan will ensure greater stability of infrastructure priorities to help New Zealand plan for, fund and deliver important projects, Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop says.&n
The Government’s new National Infrastructure Agency will be established this year, unlocking access to more capital for infrastructure and strengthening the Government’s private finance and commercial capability
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Tongan Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku met today in the margins of the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting in Tonga.
In his speech, Chris Bishop recalled that earlier this year, he had mapped out what he wanted from the infrastructure system.
I want the private sector to invest here, because they are confident in the pipeline and are enabled to get on with it by an efficient and fair consenting system.
And I want the public to enjoy infrastructure that is safe, reliable, accessible, and good value for money.
To achieve this, he said, he was focused on six priorities as Infrastructure Minister.
- Developing a 30-year National Infrastructure Plan
- Establishing a National Infrastructure Agency (NIA)
- Improving infrastructure funding and financing
- Improving the consenting framework
- Improving education and health infrastructure, and
- Strengthening asset management and resilience
The Plan will outline New Zealand’s infrastructure needs over the next 30 years, planned investments over the next 10 years, and recommendations on priority projects and reforms that can fill the gap between what we will have and what we will need.
Bishop said he wants the Plan to mirror what happens in Australia, where the government leverages independent agencies to help them make the right long-term choices, while making sure there is strong capability within government to deliver these benefits.
There are four key components of the Plan.
Infrastructure Needs Assessment. This will outline the scale of New Zealand’s future investment needs – and what we can afford.
Strengthening the existing National Infrastructure Pipeline. The pipeline will outline infrastructure investments intentions over the next 10 years – in the public and private sector.
The Commission’s Pipeline already has 85 contributing organisations and includes over 6,000 projects, that combined, represent $147.6 billion in value.
The Infrastructure Priorities Programme (or the IPP), which is a structured, independent review of unfunded projects and problems, as well as initiatives that avoid the need for investment.
The Priorities Programme is modelled off the Infrastructure Priority List in Australia, which has helped them build political consensus on an enduring pipeline of major projects – and that is what I want for New Zealand as well.
Proposals that pass the test will be identified as priorities for New Zealand. This does not guarantee funding – but it does provide decision makers with a menu of credible proposals which could inform investment decisions, and other decisions like eligibility for fast-track consenting and Regional and City Deals.
Priority reforms, which will outline non-investment interventions to improve the way we select, invest in, deliver, and look after infrastructure – because we can’t simply buy our way out of the infrastructure gap.
The Plan will be published in December 2025. The Government will respond to the plan in early 2026.
The National Infrastructure Agency will be established on 1 December this year by repurposing Crown Infrastructure Partners. It will:
- Act as the Crown’s shopfront to facilitate private sector investment in infrastructure,
- Partner with agencies, and in some cases, local government, on projects involving private finance,
- Administer central government infrastructure funds, and
- Continue the work that CIP is already doing.
Increased funding for the NIA has been reprioritised from within the existing infrastructure system, and includes $5 million in establishment funding from Budget 2024.
Point of Order is a blog focused on politics and the economy run by veteran newspaper reporters Bob Edlin and Ian Templeton
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