Chris Bishop: Infrastructure Minister on the Government's first Infrastructure Investment Summit

The Minister in charge of the Government's Infrastructure Investment Summit says deals will mostly be done in the coming weeks, months and years ahead.

More than a hundred companies, managing about six trillion dollars in capital, are at the Government's two day summit in Auckland.

But Chris Bishop says there's already been one tangible commitment from Australian investor Plenary group.

"They've promised to set up a New Zealand office here and they've promised to bid on the next five PPP opportunities that come up - that is a commitment that they have just made, I think, in the last 24 hours, on the basis of what they heard at the summit and in the leadup to it. So that's good."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good evening. The investments summit underway in Auckland right now
and on the table we've got PPPs to build, finance,
maintain this new section of the Northern Expressway. We've got
three new courthouses in a revamped christ Church Men's prison.
Brett Sheppard, he's from Craig's Investments, Investment Partners. He is
there representing investors and he says, so far they're liking

(00:21):
what they're hearing.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
The people I've talked to you last night and again
this morning absolutely committed on the basis that there was
a continuation of a program that they believe so commit
human capital, knowing that as bipartisan that'll see through an
election cycle and it's on a sustainable basis is Key.

Speaker 1 (00:38):
Chris Bishops and charges with us now home Minister, good day,
how are you good? Thank you? Anything tangible come out
of this year or is it fair to say this
deals will be done later?

Speaker 3 (00:48):
Deals will be done later and in the coming weeks,
months and years ahead. This is about a long term pipeline.
I mean one tangible commitment we've already had today from
Plenary Group, for example, is they promised to set up
in Zealand offic here and they promised to bid on
the next five PPP opportunities that come up. So that
is actually a commitment they've just made, i think in
the last twenty four hours on the basis of what
they've heard of the summer and then the lead up

(01:10):
to it. So that's good.

Speaker 1 (01:11):
That is good. The bipartisan thing obviously very important. You've
got Barbara edmund speaking tomorrow. How I mean, do you
have an agreement that whatever you decide while you're in
government they'll stick to, because that's really what these guys
want to know.

Speaker 3 (01:25):
Yeah, that's been a constant theme of today is hearing
from the delegates. They like the fact that you've got
national and labor in the room, being mature, grown up
adults agreeing on working on a pipeline and also the
funding model. So Barbara Edmunds wrote a forward to the
PPP document that we released as a government.

Speaker 1 (01:43):
That is really important.

Speaker 3 (01:44):
And I'm working with her on the thirty year Plan
for infrastructure in New Zealand and I actively want to
involve the opposition in that and I think the reality
is we need as a country to do that right
because these guys want long term certainty, they want to
invest in news, they need to understand that their investments
are safe and secure and that there's also a pipeline

(02:04):
so that they can invest in human capital and they
can invest in the kit and the machinery. So that
is really important. Frankly, if we're honest about it, we
haven't been very good at that as a country. Governments
come and go on, the projects come and go. Let's
get mature about it. Let's be adults in the room
and build for New Zealand.

Speaker 1 (02:19):
All right, Chris Bishop, thanks so much for your time.
That's the Infrastructure Minister, Chris Bishop in Auckland. For more
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