Thomas Coughlan: NZ Herald political editor on the Infrastructure Commission's new draft 30-year infrastructure plan

Can New Zealand plug its infrastructure gap by adopting spatial planning systems - or funding investment through user-pricing?

They're among ideas mooted in a 30-year infrastructure investment draft, proposed by the Infrastructure Commission.

NZ Herald political editor Thomas Coughlan explains further.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thomas Coglan, the Herald's political editors, with us Hey Thomas
either okay, Thomas, let's talk about Faro Order. So Final
Order has done an AD and what is this ad for.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
The add is to encourage young Mary or anyone who's
Mary to join the Maori electoral role. Obviously, it's it's
controversial because governments in the past have obviously tried to
encourage people to sign up to join the electoral role
so that they can vote. That's non controversial. Every election,
the Orange Chap comes around and does it. And what

(00:31):
is controversial is that this ad features Tamati runs a
list of names of people who have recently signed up
on the Maori electoral role. What the government hasn't really
done in the past has been to tell people, well,
you should you should join the Maori role, not the
not the general role, which is sort of what this
this ad does. It doesn't really say don't join the
general role. It just says basically, joined the Malori role.

(00:53):
Why that is controversial and why Shane Jones is singling
it out is is that it is a wee bit pulo.
I guess it is obviously funnel war, the funal war
a commissioning agency is publicly funded and and the Maori
seats at the moment are really dragged races between Labor
and Party Malori. They don't really feature feature of the
other parties too much. And obviously if Party Malory does

(01:16):
well in those seats and then they and they might
generate an overhang which gives the left parties a bit
of an advantage. So it is on the face of it,
it looks pretty inappropriate. David Seymour, the acting Prime Minister,
said Timer Potak is looking into it today, so it'd
be very interesting to hear what he has to say.

Speaker 1 (01:32):
What power does he have if he doesn't like it.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
It's not it's the funnel or of money comes from
the government, but it is and and this is exactly
what David Seymour has said. The question is whether this
spending was within the was within the boundaries set by
the contract that was inked. So obviously if that if
the spending occurred in a way that was inconsistent with

(01:56):
the with the contract that that the government gave, then
then there would be an issue. So they might have
power to actually sort of say well, look, you know,
not a good this this is an appropriate spending. I
don't think they can cancel the ad but but honestly,
I'm not sure what they what power they have to
do it.

Speaker 1 (02:12):
I mean, it seems to me that Faro Order is
is this is this is not a great thing for
it to be like it is. It is getting itself
into unnecessary trouble here and making itself unnecessarily political, isn't it?

Speaker 2 (02:23):
Yes, precisely, and and and look, I mean, like the
the the Maori electoral role is obviously a self selecting role.
That's what this is all about. And and interfere and
suggesting like you should you should do this role and
not another role as a as a very political act,
and particularly given fan or as close relationships with the
Maori Party, who says it up?

Speaker 1 (02:44):
But this, Thomas, was the very next thing I was
going to ask you, Is it appropriate? I mean, I
don't want to pick on metapeck at Oka wall Take
because I like her, but it is is it appropriate
for her to be in this position with Faro Order
defending decisions like this that are political whilst standing as
a candidate for the Marti Party.

Speaker 2 (03:02):
On the face of it, that that does look inappropriate?
I mean, you like I probably would reserve judgment until
we see what time of Protacon comes up with. But certainly,
like everything, and this is why the government is in
such an upbroad to day. Everything you've seen so far
suggests or you know, it doesn't doesn't look great on
the face of it.

Speaker 1 (03:20):
Now, have you had to read of this new report
from the Infrastructure Commission and what part of it do
you think is just the best part?

Speaker 2 (03:27):
Well of the page. I'm going to be very honest
with you hither and say I have not read all
of it. There was a bit today I'd like to
read you a section, page one hundred and nine. Please
your copy, you can't wait on you of the twenty
twenty two New Zealand Infrastructure Strategy. Now that that one
said that of all of the capital projects put up

(03:49):
for the twenty twenty one budget, only half had completed
business cases. And if you don't do a business case,
chances are your project is a bit of a turkey
and it might go over budget because you haven't done
your planning properly at the beginning. So they got a
big telling off in twenty twenty two. Only half of
those projects had completed business cases. That meant they were
likely to go over budget. The Infrastrucure Commission said, more
business cases, get your costings right, do it before you start.

(04:11):
So come to twenty twenty five and this new document,
another one hundred page document, page nine. You don't have
to read as far. What does it say? Half of
all projects for investment in both twenty twenty three and
twenty twenty four budgets did not have a business case.
It's the same thing. They were told two years ago
to do these business cases to get their costings right.
And here we are three years later with another one

(04:33):
hundred page report that says exactly the same thing.

Speaker 1 (04:36):
What a surprise because nobody reads the whole report, including
you and I. Thomas, thank you very much, appreciate it.
Thomas Coglin, the Herald's political editor. For more from Heather
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