Roger Partridge: How asset recycling can help solve the infrastructure deficit

Last week, the Government confirmed it would spend up to $200 million buying new Genesis Energy shares. Three ministers lined up to explain the decision. It was about energy security. It was about stronger assets. It was about better outcomes for Kiwis.

Roger Partridge: NZ’s infrastructure crisis: Unlocking Crown assets for renewal

Imagine owning a fortune in investments while lacking the ready cash to fix your crumbling house. That is New Zealand’s position today. The country faces a projected $210 billion infrastructure deficit, with congested roads, ageing water systems, and inadequate healthcare facilities.

Meanwhile, the Crown owns a sprawling collection of assets. They range from essential public infrastructure like roads, hospitals and schools to an eclectic jumble of commercial enterprises with no logical connection to each other. The Crown’s asset portfolio shows no sign of any strategic investment approach.

Bryce Edwards: Our politicians are competent firefighters, but terrible builders

The Labour Government has once again proven itself to be very competent in a crisis. Cyclone Gabrielle has allowed Prime Minister Chris Hipkins to demonstrate his impressive disaster management communication.

Labour is very good with the political firefighting required to deal with such disasters – as they have shown in the past with their response to the Christchurch mosque attack, the Whakaari White Island eruption, and the initial stages of Covid.

And, in fact, the last National Government wasn’t too bad at crisis management either. John Key and Bill English received plaudits for the way they dealt with the global financial crisis, the Pike River disaster, and the Canterbury earthquakes.