Calder Cam: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Calder Cam: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 26 July 2012. Volume:682;Page:4009. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
1. 
Dr CAM CALDER (National) 
 to the  
Minister of Finance 
: What progress is the Government making with its multi-billion dollar infrastructure programme? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance) 
: 
 Our progress on infrastructure is good. We have invested $5 billion in infrastructure such as schools broadband and hospitals over the last four Budgets and billions more upgrading our State highway networks and the national grid. The first road of national significance project Victoria Park Tunnel has been completed and there is good progress on the rest. We have upgraded on average over 16000 State houses a year since 2009 and are on track to insulate every State house built before 1978 by the end of the year. Of course we have put aside $5.5 billion to help fund the rebuild of Christchurch infrastructure which is getting under way. 
Dr Cam Calder 
: What steps has the Government taken to improve the quality of its infrastructure investment? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: Well that is a good question because just having more infrastructure is one aspect of it but having high-quality infrastructure is in the long run more important. We have improved the way the Government makes its own plans and the way it gets consents and finances its infrastructure through the reform of the Resource Management Act setting up the National Infrastructure Unit and setting up the Environmental Protection Authority. This has introduced more discipline into the Government process. Last year we issued the second National Infrastructure Plan which shows that our infrastructure is generally improving but it does highlight those areas where we need to do a better job. 
Dr Cam Calder 
: How will the Government fund its large infrastructure investment? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: The planned investment over the next 4 years is large at around $17 billion. This will be paid for through a mixture of funding sources. Some of it of course will come from petrol tax and road-user charges on the roads some will come from depreciation and a considerable amount will come from direct funding from the Government. The direct funding from the Government will be channelled through the Future Investment Fund which was set up to take the proceeds of the partial share sales and invest those in future publicly owned infrastructure. Treasury is forecasting sale proceeds of $5 billion to $7 billion over the next 3 to 5 years and this will assist with a $17 billion infrastructure investment programme. 
Hon David Parker 
: Does he agree with the 52 percent of business leaders in the  
New Zealand Herald 
’s 
“Mood of the Boardroom” survey that other than returning to surplus the Government has no adequate plan to encourage the economic growth and jobs needed to stop so many young New Zealanders moving to Australia? 
Hon Steven Joyce 
: Oh so not enough plans today? So we have changed from too many plans again. 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: No I do not and as my colleague Steven Joyce has pointed out the Labour Party cannot decide—on some days there are too many plans and on the other days there is no plan. We have outlined the programme outlined the plan including to the “Mood of the Boardroom” session this morning. I can tell the member that it has pretty broad support among the business community.