Government backs review into under-pressure transport funding in infrastructure plan
Tuesday, 16 June 2026
Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop says the Government wants to get to a point where it is spending 60 cents of every dollar for infrastructure on renewal work, but admits it’s not something that can be done immediately.
The Government released its response to the Infrastructure Commission’s national plan on Tuesday, which included a review into the multi-billion funding tool New Zealand uses to fund its state highways and public transport.
A document outlining the official response includes statements from Labour and the Green Party, which Bishop said showed “the kind of mature approach to infrastructure that New Zealand needs and deserves”.
In February the commission released the plan which set out a 30-year blueprint for how New Zealand could better invest in infrastructure. It made 16 recommendations which have all been accepted by the Government and came under four umbrella themes: planning for what the country can afford, looking after infrastructure already in use, prioritising the “right projects” and making it easier to build better.
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Ahead of appearing before a select committee scrutiny week session, Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop released the Government’s response to the plan.
Alongside the recommendations, the Government agreed to four further actions:
Reviewing the land transport funding system
Legislating for departments and crown entities to publish long-term investment plans and to report on asset management
Requiring infrastructure providers to maintain up-to-date data in the national infrastructure pipeline and strengthen data quality over time
Strengthening public sector project leadership
Bishop will report back to Cabinet on the Government response to the plan no later than the end of June next year.
It had been noted by the infrastructure minister often in recent months that the way the country funded its transport via the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF) had been under real pressure.
The NLTF collects the money from road user charges and fuel excise taxes to fund the country’s transport infrastructure.
However, that money has not been keeping up with the demand for transport spending, meaning the Government has had to tip more and more money from general taxpayers’ coffers into projects.
In April Bishop said the funding challenges were a “bloody difficult situation” that kept him “up at night”.
A review of the funding model will be completed by the newly created Ministry of Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport (MCERT), supported by Treasury. It would be consulted on publicly by 2028.
Other major parts of the response included the need for planning to actively manage declining populations in areas due to factors including changing demographics, technology and climate change.
It also noted the need to explore “asset recycling opportunities” within portfolios to maintain value and affordability.
Across a range of initiatives the response highlighted the need for agencies to have better information.
It said the Infrastructure Commission would develop options to strengthen the national infrastructure pipeline through legislation which included setting a framework for setting requirements for infrastructure providers to create, collate, store and supply information.
Politicians respond
In the Infrastructure Commission’s plan it said 60 cents of every dollar should be spent on maintenance and renewals.
Following a select committee hearing on Tuesday Bishop said he would like infrastructure spending to get to that point.
“That's where we want to be heading, for sure, over time. But it's not something we're going to be able to do immediately.”
He said that some sectors were doing better than others.
“Rail’s is actually an example of where we are doing better than we have done, so from memory I think this is actually in response to the plan. I think 66 cents of every dollar of rail investment is on maintenance and renewals.”
The minister said that was largely due to hundreds of millions of renewal work needed to be done on the Wellington and Auckland networks.
In his ministerial forward to the Government’s response Bishop said the infrastructure plan was not the first of its type, but the first that was created by independent experts at the Infrastructure Commission.
“It’s not this Government’s Plan – it’s New Zealand’s Plan.
“This distinction is critical. A plan delivered by independent experts can, and should, endure through political cycles.”
He was grateful to Opposition leaders for their comments in the response.
“That is the kind of mature approach to infrastructure that New Zealand needs and deserves.”
Labour infrastructure spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said in his comments that the party offered to contribute because it “offers something this country sorely needs: a long-term, evidence-based path that doesn't belong to any one government”.
McAnulty said the framework was durable enough to survive changes of government, so the sector could plan, invest, train and hire with confidence.
“We told investors plainly that a change of government will not put their projects at risk. Aside from the LNG terminal, for which we share the Commission’s reservations, our commitment is that we will honour what is contracted, underway and already funded.”
Green Party infrastructure spokesperson Julie Anne Genter backed the 16 infrastructure plan recommendations.
“Long-term investment in our infrastructure must enable Aotearoa to decarbonise rapidly and adapt to increased severe weather events.”
Genter did note elements of the plan she believed were at odds with current government policy which included parts of the coalition’s transport policy statement not lining up with project prioritisation and sequencing, questions around whether the Government’s Resource Management Act replacement will be a stable alternative and the commitment from ministers regarding the LNG terminal.
“Overall the Green Party welcomes the intention of the Government in its response to the national infrastructure plan and urges that this commitment to long-term planning and evidence –informed decision making continues to drive investment.”