Wagner Nicky: Annual Review Debate — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeWagner Nicky: Annual Review Debate — In Committee[Sitting date: 28 April 2015. Volume:704;Page:2986. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon NICKY WAGNER (Associate Minister for Canterbury Recovery):I am delighted to take this opportunity to have a call on infrastructure because it is efficient and effective infrastructure that underpins both economic development and the quality of life for all New Zealanders. The Canterbury earthquakes have taught us just how miserable life can be if you have got broken roads you do not have a reliable power service the water system is patchy and you do not have a functioning toilet. The National Government has invested heavily into infrastructure into the roads of national significance the roll-out of ultra-fast broadband new social housing fabulous new schools and health facilities and in Christchurch we have got all this and more. In fact our city is getting the biggest infrastructure investment New Zealand has ever seen.I want to talk in terms of “horizontal infrastructure”—as if we knew that term before the earthquake! The Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team is delivering its rebuild on time on budget and to specification. The Christchurch roading and the three water systems the three waters network—that is waste water storm water and potable water—when complete will be far more resilient and much more cost effective than ever before. Right now at 31 March 2015 across Christchurch 66 percent of the roading and the three waters network is complete 91 percent of all the work in the central city is complete and overall 70 percent of the whole Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team’s repair and rebuild is done. Every Cantabrian will be thrilled when we get that finished although I think we will feel a bit bereft when we lose all those road cones.The public transport infrastructure will get a boost when the new bus interchange is completed next month. Although the bus network has been running pretty successfully the new interchange will be more than just a building because it signals a new start to the way that we deliver public transport in our city. It is intricately connected with the An Accessible City plan and that is providing a safer more concise central roading system and better public transport. This is infrastructure for all. The needs of pedestrians the needs of cyclists the needs of the fully abled as well as those who are not are all accounted for in this plan.The justice and the emergency services precinct in Christchurch is growing by the day and when it is complete it will have 19 courts accommodation for police and corrections and an emergency services hub. That hub is a new way of delivering emergency services. It will include the fire brigade St John Ambulance and a combined emergency call centre. It will be state of the art. It is infrastructure that will support not only Christchurch but also Canterbury and the rest of the South Island during emergency conditions.Christchurch is already benefiting from its hospital rebuild. Both Burwood and Christchurch hospitals are being rebuilt and that is over $600 million worth of work. It is well under way and it is the biggest hospital project in our country’s history. I went to the opening of the new Child Haematology Oncology Centre which is fondly known as “CHOC”. It is an absolutely magnificent facility which will provide a really good homely environment and real support for young people and their families and it truly will make a difference during these difficult times in their lives. While I am talking about that I would like to acknowledge the work of the Canterbury District Health Board and everyone who works in those hospitals. The logistics of running a hospital during a rebuild are enormously challenging and they affect everyone who works on the site. I know life is difficult for them but they are getting through it because they are looking forward to the real benefits of a new modern hospital.Finally in terms of the central city 65000 square metres of new office space has been completed in the central business district and every day new businesses are moving into the centre city. The retail sector is also booming with retail sales 30 percent higher than pre-earthquake and the infrastructure for nightlife—the bars the restaurants and the cafes—is back. They are back to about 95 percent of pre-earthquake levels. The National Government understands that resilient and modern infrastructure—