Geoff Cooper: Infrastructure Commission Strategy General Manager on ASB's trillion-dollar infrastructure bill

New research by ASB economists suggests the country faces a trillion-dollar infrastructure bill over the next three decades. 

The report states New Zealand will require up to 700-thousand additional dwellings and associated infrastructure in 30 years as our population balloons. 

It says climate-change pressures are becoming more pressing, with the country’s infrastructure lacking resilience and being heavily exposed to natural disasters. 

The report suggests trade-offs may need to be made, including increased taxes, council rates or user charges. 

Geoff Cooper, Strategy GM at the Infrastructure Commission, told Mike Hosking that we should view this number more as motivation than a credible funding number. 

He said we have to think smarter about the infrastructure investment decisions we make, as we can't afford to keep paying these big numbers. 

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