Labour infrastructure policy: No cancelling contracted or funded projects - Kieran McAnulty
If there’s one thing New Zealand has become far too good at, it’s changing its mind about infrastructure.
A road gets announced. A rail project gets cancelled. A public transport plan gets redesigned. A new government comes in and decides it knows better than the last one. Years disappear, costs go through the roof, and the people waiting for the infrastructure are left wondering whether it’ll ever happen.
Whether you’re sitting in traffic in Auckland, waiting for safer roads in the Wairarapa, trying to move freight through the regions, or relying on ageing water infrastructure, you don’t care which party gets the credit. You just want the job done.
That’s the attitude Labour is taking.
- Click here for more stories from the Herald’s Infrastructure Report, including op-eds from Government Minister Chris Bishop and Greens infrastructure spokesperson Julie Anne Genter.
Infrastructure shouldn’t be built around election cycles. It should be built around what’s best for New Zealand over the next 30 or 40 years.
The constant stop-start approach is costing us a fortune. Every time governments scrap projects that are already underway, we don’t just lose time, we throw away years of planning, redesign work, procurement and investment. Then, when the need inevitably comes back, taxpayers end up paying even more to start again.
That’s not being fiscally responsible. It’s wasting money.
That’s why Labour will commit to not cancelling major infrastructure projects that are already contracted or funded for delivery. Once we’ve made the decision to build something and signed on the dotted line, governments should follow through. Businesses, workers and communities deserve that certainty.
Anyone running a construction company will tell you the same thing. They can’t invest in apprentices, machinery or new technology if they have no idea whether work will disappear after the next election. The boom-and-bust cycle doesn’t just hurt the industry, it drives up prices for everyone.
We’ll also make sure every major new infrastructure commitment is independently reviewed by the Infrastructure Commission. Politicians will always make the final call, that’s democracy, but those decisions should be informed by evidence, not whoever can shout the loudest or cut the biggest ribbon.
Good governments aren’t afraid of good advice.
Labour also believes we should work alongside the private sector to get projects built while keeping strategic infrastructure in public hands. This isn’t an ideological debate. It’s about getting the best outcome for taxpayers while making sure New Zealanders continue to own the assets that matter.
We’ll also protect the transport corridors we’ll need in the future. It’s a lot cheaper to preserve space for a road or a rail line today than it is to bulldoze houses or businesses 20 years from now because no one thought ahead.
This shouldn’t be a left versus right issue.
The bridge doesn’t know who voted for it. The road doesn’t care which party announced it. A train line doesn’t become more or less useful depending on who’s sitting on the Treasury benches.
If we can build a broad agreement on the infrastructure New Zealand needs, everyone benefits. Communities get certainty. Businesses get confidence to invest. Workers get steady jobs. Taxpayers get better value for money.
Most importantly, we stop wasting time arguing about whether to build and get on with actually building.
That’s how we leave the country in better shape than we found it.