Roles

National Infrastructure Plan

The Plan is directional but not directive. It places infrastructure in the context of New Zealand's broader economic goals and is anchored in the reality of its fiscal outlook. It sets a clear course for the future so that infrastructure providers from all sectors have a common understanding of national level expectations and policy settings.

This is a strategic document rather than a plan of what to build, when and why. It sets out investment principles and identifies what the government wants to achieve long-term. There is a tension between the need for national direction and the numerous autonomous decision makers. The Plan provides a high level strategy which reduces uncertainty for decision-makers.

The Plan does not seek to resolve all the issues that might exist in any region, sector or part of the economy. It does seek to identify the biggest areas of contention, and suggest a way forward. Given the long lead times for infrastructure and the long asset life, many of these challenges will take a number of years to resolve.

Central Government

Central government has two key roles:

• Regulator - Better regulation is a key principle for improved delivery of infrastructure. The government is seeking to further develop effective infrastructure markets and reduce uncertainty for infrastructure providers through regulatory reform.
• Provider - The government is a major provider of social and economic infrastructure. For economic infrastructure, the government has promoted the development of markets to determine and incentivise the best investments.

The government aims to reduce its investment in those sectors in which markets are working well (e.g. energy) while retaining its influence through sound long-term planning and regulation. This will allow government to prioritise investment in public goods where there is little private sector investment.

This Plan responds to the absence of a cross-sectoral infrastructure strategy, which has meant that investment decisions have lacked context. The government will ensure its own investment decisions align with the outcomes sought in this Plan, and will encourage investment from other sources.

The government will continue to have a role as a provider in the following sectors:

• Transport - A lead role through assets managed by New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) and Kiwirail.
• Telecommunications - Following current ultra fast and rural broadband investments, the government will focus on ensuring the regulatory regime operates effectively.
• Energy - As a majority shareholder in a number of state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
• Water - Including to crowd in other investors and act as a catalyst investor for irrigation projects.
• Social infrastructure - To deliver public goods that the market cannot.

In addition to the information contained in the Plan, the Investment Statement, released as a companion to the Budget, clearly shows the government's assets, liabilities and future investment intentions and brings this important aspect of financial management into line with other regular fiscal reporting.

Local Government

Local government is a significant owner of transport, water and social infrastructure and has a mandate to improve investment decisions, asset management and regulation to support New Zealand's economic growth. Central government will ensure that local government has the right tools to achieve this.

Private Sector

The private sector plays a critical role in the provision of infrastructure. The government encourages greater involvement of the private sector, as investors in economic infrastructure and as partners of government to deliver social infrastructure. In addition to investment, the private sector provides skills and expertise in planning and design, construction and asset management.

Iwi and Maori Entities

Iwi and other Maori entities will have a role to play in supporting infrastructure development in New Zealand. In this regard work undertaken through the Maori Economic Taskforce and other initiatives provides a foundation for iwi to identify the types of projects they would like to be involved in and the nature of that involvement. The government supports iwi and Maori entities using this Plan to inform them of the infrastructure priorities facing the country and the types of projects that might be of interest to them.