Chris Bishop: Infrastructure Minister outlines long-term goals for the sector

The Infrastructure Minister hopes to get bi-partisan support for major long-term projects.

Minister Chris Bishop today outlined intentions for the infrastructure sector - including developing a 30-Year National Plan and National Agency. 

Bishop says he was inspired by similar efforts happening overseas.

"If you look at what Australia does, which is where we've picked up the idea from, both in NSW and also federally - they do have a kind of rank order of things. That developed over time, this is the start of a process."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Heather Dup to CLA.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
The government is moving towards taking the politics out of infrastructure.
It is announced it will establish a National Infrastructure Agency
this year and this agency will plan our infrastructure projects
for the country for the next thirty years. Chris Bishop
is the Infrastructure Minister.

Speaker 1 (00:15):
Bish Hello, hi Heather.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Who gets to pitch to these guys what gets built?

Speaker 3 (00:22):
The private sector, local government and communities will be able
to pitch to the Infrastructure Commission to take a really
good hard look at what projects we need for the
future and what ones make sense and what ones don't.
The aim is to get a bit of an independent
view about what we should be building in New Zealand
and also what we shouldn't be building, and then put
that list out there publicly, and then that will serve

(00:42):
as a bit of a guide for what politicians might
or might not want a campaign on in future elections.

Speaker 1 (00:47):
This is about planning for the future.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
But are you saying therefore that that central government because
that was not on the list, So you guys in
government can't pitch ideas.

Speaker 1 (00:55):
Oh, central government be part of it as well. Yeah. Sorry.

Speaker 3 (00:57):
The point I'm making is that it'll be available for
every body central government, local government.

Speaker 2 (01:01):
So will this as well, will they be free of
political interference? They will get to make the final say no.

Speaker 3 (01:08):
The Infrastructure Commission is independent, so they will be making
the assessments and they will be public and they won't
be touched by politicians. They'll be independent assessments by independent
economic experts. Decisions around what we build and what we
don't build those remain in the hands of local government
and also central government as well, because ultimately we're accountable

(01:29):
for those funding decisions.

Speaker 1 (01:30):
But here's the point. You know, politicians might.

Speaker 3 (01:33):
Decide to fund the dumb project and that might not
be on the infrastructure priority list, and then the politicians
will have to explain to the public why they're funding
something that isn't a priority as identified by independent experts.

Speaker 1 (01:47):
But also the flip side is true too.

Speaker 3 (01:48):
It will become a selling point to be able to
say to the public, you know what infrastructure commissions that
analyze this, they reckon it's a really good project for
the following reasons, we're going to fund it, and here's why,
and here's how we're going to do it.

Speaker 2 (01:58):
The thing about it is, I mean you you you
might have if the list is too long you may
have the Greens picking stuff at the bottom of the list,
even yourselves picking stuff at the bottom of the list
that aren't you know, high priority? Will it will it be?
Will it be ordered sort of an order of priority,
like this is the most important, this is the least important?

Speaker 3 (02:15):
That will that will develop over time? Yes, that is
that is certainly my intention of the list over time.
It's early days, you know, we've just just literally started today.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
I've announced it today.

Speaker 3 (02:25):
Will publish the first list or the Commission will publish
the first list in April next year. And certainly if
you look at what Australia does, which is where we've
picked up the idea from both in New South Wales
and also federally, they do have a kind of rank
order for things, and that that again developed over time.
So this is the start of a process to get
us to that point.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
Chris, thank you really appreciate your time. That's Chris Boship
the Infrastructure min.

Speaker 1 (02:44):
A step For more from Heather du Plassy Allen Drive.

Speaker 2 (02:47):
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