5. Question No. 5—InfrastructureSHANAN HALBERT (Labour—Northcote) to the Minister for InfrastructureQuestion No. 5—Infrastructure5. SHANAN HALBERT (Labour—Northcote) to the Minister for Infrastructure: What progress has the Government made in addressing New Zealand's infrastructure deficit?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister for Infrastructure): Being smarter about the way we plan deliver and use infrastructure is critical if we are to close the infrastructure deficit and deliver what New Zealanders need now and in the future. Through successive Budgets our Government has already invested $45 billion over the last five years and has committed another $71 billion over the next five years for infrastructure. Our recently released Infrastructure Action Plan which details Government's actions in response to the 30-year infrastructure strategy also shows we are serious about delivering the transformation required to provide certainty to the construction sector. We're embarking on the long-term nation-building that any responsible Government must do to ensure we are addressing the country's current and future needs.Shanan Halbert: How is the Government improving infrastructure resilience in response to recent severe weather events?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: Budget 2023 ring-fenced $6 billion for the initial phase of a national resilience plan to support significant medium- and long-term infrastructure investments which focus on the resilience of New Zealand's critical infrastructure. It is unacceptable that basic lifeline services like power telecommunication and transport links were out of action for so long. It identified a serious basic infrastructure problem that this investment will begin to address. The initial focus of the plan will be on building back better from those recent weather events.Shanan Halbert: How is the Government helping to provide certainty to the construction sector?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: The National Infrastructure Pipeline is the first of its kind in New Zealand and provides visibility of a $92 billion pipeline of funded infrastructure projects across central government local government and the private sector. This helps the construction sector to plan and invest in their capacity and capability to deliver. The development of the infrastructure priority list also has the potential to be a game-changer standardising the process to address infrastructure proposals ensuring value for money and building an enduring project consensus from a very early stage. This will provide confidence across the sector to better plan and invest in building and training our workforce.Shanan Halbert: How is the Government working with cities and regions to provide long-term certainty of planning?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: Our Government has been working with cities and regions through the Urban Growth Agenda to support long-term pipelines in our regional partnerships. Currently we have six regional partnerships in six separate areas: Auckland Greater Christchurch the Hamilton-Auckland corridor Queenstown Lakes Tauranga - Western Bay of Plenty and Wellington-Horowhenua. The Urban Growth Agenda is about the delivery of infrastructure that meets the needs of that particular region. We are the Government of infrastructure.