Jones ShaneNEW ZEALAND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMISSION/TE WAIHANGA BILLFirst ReadingHon SHANE JONES (Minister for Infrastructure): I move That the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission/Te Waihanga Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Finance and Expenditure Committee to consider the bill. At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be reported to the House by 26 August 2019. Kia ora nō tātou. This bill establishes the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission/Te Waihanga to provide independent expert advice on infrastructure. Quality infrastructure is essential to improving New Zealand's long-term economic performance and social well-being but a short-term project-by-project focus by successive Governments means many of our key infrastructure networks need critical investment. For example our transport and urban infrastructure is struggling to keep up with population growth and increased demand and parts of our water network are over 100 years old. This infrastructure deficit is manifesting in housing unaffordability congestion poor-quality drinking-water and lost productivity. We announced the new Infrastructure Commission at the Building Nations Symposium last year in Auckland. The idea of nation-building is something that New Zealand historically did well and is a cornerstone of this Government's narrative. I think fondly to the days of the Ministry of Works where there were options other than leaving school lounging on the couch joining a gang. Consequently in the absence of quality long-term programmes we are seeing far too many provinces today struggling with the infrastructure deficit. Now this is something many of us take for granted in New Zealand—i.e. basic infrastructure—but I can assure you that one of the loudest complaints articulated to me when I visit the regions is roads bridges buildings water infrastructure and telecommunication. So what's wrong? Quite simply New Zealand lacks a long-term infrastructure plan. There are some small bright lights but in terms of a comprehensive statement it eludes us. We have an 80-page glossy document from 2015: lots of pictures of ports and cranes but no way of quantifying the extent of our deficit. I do not make that statement in any way wanting to cast a negative reflection on the people who have joined over the recent period of time and sat upon the infrastructure committee but a fact is a fact. During the development of the policy related to this bill extensive engagement with the sector was undertaken and a number of problems were highlighted: a lack of integrated investment decisions within and across central and local government and a lack of visibility pipeline and scale. Our overriding focus is on building new assets rather than the outcomes we're trying to achieve and our ability to deliver on them. Central government and local government procurement capability is often lacking. The industry has been saying this for a considerable period of time and I wager a guess that virtually every MP in this House that has within his or her mission matters of economic importance will have encountered people from that sector making these points. We require a step change.Ministers have listened and I think I should make the point that I'm sure Ministers under the last regime heard similar entreaties. So this bill seeks to deliver what the sector has been asking for: an entity with autonomy to provide robust impartial advice vision and strategy. The authority to commit public funding to actually invest on behalf of the Crown will continue to remain with the elected politicians enjoying the privilege of holding a warrant to be Cabinet Ministers. However a commission is important in terms of coordination and planning ensuring that we make the most of the infrastructure we have planned long term.So the two main areas that require our focus: the first is strategy and planning. Good infrastructure outcomes require us to think about the full infrastructure lifecycle from planning to delivery. There will always be political debate and indeed I am embroiled mildly in such a debate at the moment in terms of the future of the Ports of Auckland but I'll be the first person to say that the creation of a reservoir of talent and expertise is overdue. Even if from time to time elected politicians like my good self may not thoroughly or exhaustively agree with the responses that does not mean that that quality of advice should not be served up to us.The second group of functions for the commission is to provide new expert transactional capability to support the delivery of projects across central and local government. I need look no further than what I colloquially call the railway loop in downtown Auckland. I'm sure there are a host of lessons for Ministers MPs and all stakeholders to learn from that large infrastructure project and what transactional improvements we might take on board in further urban development transport infrastructure developments. So the establishment of the commission—Te Waihanga which in Māori remains to construct to conceive to design"—is a concrete step that this Government and God willing future Governments will use and will improve the level of accountability in terms of how we plan coordinate and deliver.I have briefed the Opposition spokesperson on the bill and the vision behind it to ensure that we try and find some common ground. They have had nine years also of looking at the lessons looking at areas for improvement. To deliver this vision I asked all of my colleagues in the House to support the bill in this regard. I commend the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission/Te Waihanga Bill to the House."