Bennett David: Infrastructure Bill — First Reading 
Bennett David: Infrastructure Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:656;Page:5852] 
DAVID BENNETT (National—Hamilton East) 
: 
 It is with great pleasure that the National Government puts forward the Infrastructure Bill of 2009. This bill reflects the National Government’s commitment to building a stronger economy that will provide growth for all New Zealanders and to providing the social infrastructure that New Zealanders desire and that has been sorely lacking under previous Labour Governments. This legislation contains a number of components all of which relate to each other and relate to economic growth. They are related to building a stronger economy for our country going forward. 
I turn to the four areas that have been noted in the legislation. The last area that the previous speaker Moana Mackey mentioned in respect of affordable housing is quite interesting. She summed up Labour’s approach to economics and to the management of resources: it feels that the Government of the day in setting the rules and regulations would determine the best approach. Labour believes that the Government in determining the nature of how and when land can be used and under what process will be the determining factor in whether it is successful. I have news for the Labour Party: it is not that way. The last Labour Government tried that approach. Did that Government help people who wanted affordable housing? It did not. 
This Government’s approach will deliver some serious results for people who want affordable housing who want to achieve the Kiwi dream of having their own home. We will not stagnate the process through the Government and say that the Government knows best. We will have a much better system—one that takes into account the market the purchasers local government and the economic realities of buying one’s first home. This legislation incorporates that and leads to that outcome and that is the advantage of this legislation when we look at affordable housing. 
When most people look at an Infrastructure Bill the first things they think about are the traditional forms of infrastructure such as roading rail and power. That is the nature of the heart of this bill—the first part of the bill—which deals with access by utility operators to transport corridors. Before we talk about infrastructure I want to first of all set the scene and look at the future of New Zealand. If we look at what areas the predominant economic growth that New Zealand will experience will encompass we see that it will be predominantly in the Hamilton Tauranga and Auckland regions. That area is commonly called the “golden triangle” and it represents what will be three of the biggest cities in our country in a short period of time. Auckland will be the most dominant city by a long way but Tauranga and Hamilton will be a considerable size. They will challenge the Wellingtons and Christchurches of this world within a generation. Those cities will represent a new breed of New Zealanders: the ones who want to see an economy that is successful that is based on strong education that is based on a strong work ethic and that is based on having a future that is progressive and successful on the world stage. Those cities represent the New Zealand of the future. 
The Infrastructure Bill is giving the New Zealand of the future the opportunity to achieve its real mandate. Without this legislation those cities would continue to be hamstrung as they were under the previous Government. We are not in the mood to let that continue nor do we intend to let it continue because we have better dreams for New Zealand. We see a country where we can grow; we need the infrastructure to achieve ambitious targets. 
This bill talks about having a code of practice on how utility operators and corridor managers coordinate their activities. Codes of practice are probably unique to New Zealand legislation. It is not something that we do every day. We tend to have an approach that is based not so much on a code but rather on legislation amending and building on itself. Having a code probably represents more of a European approach to legislation and also to management and structuring of Government involvement in infrastructure. That code will be an important instrument and it will be part of creating an environment whereby companies that are investing—Government companies as well as private sector companies—will have the ability to invest with confidence. They will see that they have a process that will enable them to build the strong infrastructure that we need in this country. 
It is not about just that part of New Zealand that will be the growth engine we can perceive in the future; the rest of New Zealand also has an important role in managing and taking advantage of that growing area. Also important are the parts of the South Island that provide a lot of the power for the North Island; the likes of Wellington which has a central role in providing governance; and the rest of the North Island and the South Island which provide a lot of the agricultural and primary production infrastructure that provides the exports for our country. Those areas will need these codes and will take advantage of them because rail-tracks and roads go through their territory and so do power lines. We need to consider those instrumental parts of the debate on infrastructure and we need to develop a strong process for them. This code does that going forward. 
Part 2 talks about the standard process in regard to the Telecommunications Act the Electricity Act the Gas Act the Local Government Act and other Acts. It provides consistent provisions for access to transport corridors allocation of costs and time periods for notifications and responses to requests. It essentially provides standardisation so that business has some certainty. That certainty was lacking under the previous Labour Government: business had no certainty. Long-term investment is a key part of infrastructure. If we are to build a long series of roads then investors want to know they can invest in the equipment and the people so that they can continue to build over a certain period of time get a return on that investment and get paid for what they have put in. The previous Government did not do that; it did one-off projects on the whim of the day. It did what it thought was in its political interest. This Government will not take that approach. We will give some certainty to the community that we will provide this infrastructure. That is why we have those kinds of provisions in the bill: they give some long-term direction so that people know the rules they will be playing under. That certainty is vital in business because the last thing investors will do is invest in technology or people if investors do not have certainty in being able to get those things in order to take advantage of that investment. 
Part 3 of this bill amends the New Zealand Railways Corporation Act. Rail was one of those things that the previous Labour Government bought on a political whim. It wanted to own the trainset. It did not do due diligence on its purchase of rail. It missed out on a great opportunity to take advantage of Toll’s management capabilities and it ended up paying far too much for an asset that needs a lot of investment. This Government has been left with the baby and we have had to deal with this issue. The Minister of Transport has done a great job so far in restructuring the nature of rail’s involvement in the transport sector. Some more changes need to be made to the corporation and they are included in Part 3. They deal predominantly with directorships and the requirements and roles of directors and chairpersons. 
All in all the bill has four main parts but the heart of it provides opportunity certainty and direction for New Zealand investors New Zealand infrastructural companies and the New Zealand Government—which is a big player—so that they know what the rules are. They will have a long-term capability and a long-term vision which are needed in the provision of infrastructural services. We also have rules that will enable people to take advantage of opportunities such as affordable housing and rail transport to make sure the Government gets the results in those industries that it intends. All in all this is very important legislation because it sets a platform for growing the New Zealand economy.