Jones ShaneNEW ZEALAND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMISSION/TE WAIHANGA BILL Third Reading Hon SHANE JONES (Minister for Infrastructure): Kei te kōkiri ahau e Te Māngai o Te Whare kia pānuitia tuatorungia ai ko te pire karangahia nei ki Te Reo Māori ko te pire waihanga ki te reo Pākehā ko Te New Zealand Infrastructure Commission.[I move That the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission/Te Waihanga Bill be now read a third time.]I stand to offer a full third reading speech pertaining to this Government bill the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission/Te Waihanga Bill. I'm going to break my speech up into a number of segments. I want to first acknowledge the efforts of the Finance and Expenditure Committee and I also want to acknowledge my colleagues on the other side of the House—collegial in the sense that we are all a part of Parliament. This bill I think it might be said was conceived by the last administration or at least the Leader of the Opposition boasts that it was his idea. It was certainly something that New Zealand First also brought to the table. I'm proud to announce that it's an overdue development. So what exactly are we passing here? We are passing a piece of legislation that creates an independent institution—and the names of whom I shall read out shortly—that has a host of functions that really will help both this Government and future Governments cope with ongoing knotty infrastructure challenges. So what are those challenges? Well firstly how do investors how do planners and how do advocates assemble enough information in a single location and build an avenue or a corridor through which people can come to the Government or the Government can travel and amplify the message as to what's happening in infrastructure in New Zealand? Now it may sound a slightly trite thing to say that this is important but it doesn't exist and it's very important. There is a need to give certainty for at least a 30-year plan pertaining to our infrastructure. Sadly it will be contested space and perhaps that contest of ideas is particularly evident in the accent that I and our Government our Cabinet Ministers are putting on KiwiRail. But these are infrastructure projects that ought to be debated information amassed and possibly costings tested in a single place and that place in the future will be the Infrastructure Commission. How will the Infrastructure Commission amass this information? Well it will enjoy a host of information-gathering powers. Now there was some disappointment on the other side of the House during the committee stage that we didn't embolden the commission further to deliberately creep into the space—well not creep"—deliberately wade into the space of procurement difficulties that the industry are concerned about and I dare say a few Ministers over the years have vented their spleen about it. But it's important that the House acknowledge that inherent within the powers of the Infrastructure Commission will be the ability to wade into the troubles associated with getting the right balance between risk minimisation for the Crown and enough confidence for the Crown's building and infrastructure partners. So that work—although we were unable to vote for the Supplementary Order Paper—will and can continue. I'll say three things in that respect. I look forward to tabling if necessary a letter articulating what I expect in that regard from the Infrastructure Commission. Secondly outlining some of the work that's already taking place within the infrastructure staff—which if you look at the bill you'll see those staff were part of Treasury. Now they're being transferred over through a process that I don't want to involve myself with so that they become employees of the Infrastructure Commission. The third thing is to identify what other Ministers are doing in the broad space of procurement but there's in all this opportunities for it to improved. I think that it's important also that we give confidence to the actual sector that are willing to invest that are the builders and the service providers. There have been allegations made certainly to my good self that because we have not continued on and guaranteed the extension of four-lane highways—and I'll talk about the Tai Tokerau that might stretch from Warkworth up to Whangarei or in my case my preference is from Whangarei down. But politics is about making choices and the $45 billion that is associated with the 10-year spending horizon for the New Zealand Transport Agency—there are choices that Governments will want and reflect through their policy documents to such an institution. But this institution will enable politicians to turn towards a body of expertise and some kites may need to be put in the air. Who knows what they may be over the next few years. Now in relation to some of the big unresolved areas we have an enormous bill coming our way in the area called the three waters—i.e. how to enable local councils to try and work together. Unfortunately for them I have more of a Singaporean approach but unfortunately for me that's not my portfolio. So to get those councils to work together aggregate their effort and spread the costs over a larger number of ratepayers—that possibly could be something that in the future Ministers may want to refer to this body. Secondly the importance of rationalising the New Zealand port structure. I look forward at the right time to seeking some feedback from this body here and indeed they may also try and crack that historical chestnut otherwise called relocating the naval presence out of Devonport to other parts of New Zealand which I'm told by a former National Minister affectionately known in Whangarei as Banksie that it was something that he sought to do during the Bolger Government. The point I'm making is that this now gives Ministers an opportunity in the future to turn to a body of expertise that have some independence from the ebb and flow of the electoral process. There will be some criticisms and without any malice intended I did take on board what the National member representing Feilding had to say. I hope he's looking after Hato Pāora College not that I went to that school; I went to Tipene. Unfortunately the Anglican Church closed my school down and the Catholics are still keeping Hato Pāora open. But he is a doubting Thomas as to whether or not the content of this bill will actually enable an organisation to exert the level of influence that the other side of the House would like to see. But the reality is these are contested ideas. Certain people want more privatisation. Certain people want more four-lane highways. Others want more public investment and public transportation infrastructure. Some like my good self want to see rail rehabilitated. Others want to see a rationalisation of the ports. Others want to see a relocation of defence. Others want to see more private capital in the delivery of social infrastructure—and the latter that is not the policy or the ideological creed of this particular collection of parties. But I as the infrastructure Minister am a great enthusiast of blending the two traditions of public stewardship and also private capital. Whether or not we will always agree with this institution well as we say in Māori "Mā te wā e titiro"—in time we will see. But we shouldn't be fearful that if we ask bodies such as this and perhaps the Productivity Commission—I've never really bothered to read too many reports of the Productivity Commission. I stopped doing that when I passed honours philosophy. However there are other bodies like that. This one I think will have a very practical bent to it when you consider the number of people that come from a finance background. Dr Bollard a highly esteemed New Zealander—he is going to be the initial leader. We've appointed a CEO. Unfortunately for him at the moment he's wandering through the undergrowth figuratively speaking of creating an office and attracting staff. So I would say to all members of the House give the opportunity for the waewaes—the legs—and the ringaringas—the arms—to grow on this institution. But I'm respectful to the Hon Judith Collins and others and indeed the member affectionately known as "Goldie" who the paper described this morning as having achieved a sense of greatness as a consequence of asking me lots of questions over the stewardship of the Provincial Growth Fund. So to the extent that the National Party have elevated the Opposition spokesman on finance I should claim some small responsibility for his new status. Thank you very much."