Infrastructure scorecard finds broad party agreement

Infrastructure New Zealand has released a scorecard comparing political party positions on infrastructure, saying it shows broad agreement across parties on the issue.

The scorecard sets out where parties stand on eight infrastructure priorities as part of the group's Let's Build New Zealand campaign. It is intended to identify areas of common ground that could shape the work of the next Parliament.

Infrastructure New Zealand says infrastructure attracted more political alignment during the election campaign than almost any other policy area. It argues this creates an opening for longer-term decisions on how New Zealand plans, funds and delivers major projects.

Nick Leggett, chief executive of Infrastructure New Zealand, said the findings should reassure voters that progress is possible under different governing arrangements.

"Better infrastructure means a stronger economy, more jobs and a better quality of life. That's why the decisions made in the next Parliament matter.

"We want to acknowledge the political parties for engaging constructively with our manifesto and answering important questions about New Zealand's future. New Zealanders interested in party positions on infrastructure can now look in detail at what the parties stand for and compare those positions.

"The opportunity now is to build on the common threads and turn that into enduring system settings that last over the long term and improve the delivery and value for money we get from infrastructure."

The organisation pointed to recent comments by Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins during a leaders' debate as evidence that cross-party backing for infrastructure reform has entered the political mainstream. The harder question, it says, is whether that agreement will hold after the election when spending and legislative choices are made.

Long-term test

Leggett said infrastructure investment requires a longer horizon than a standard parliamentary term. Both project planning and system changes, he argued, need support that survives a change of government.

"Infrastructure takes years to plan and deliver. It can't be forced into a three-year election cycle, and the improvements we make to our infrastructure system need to survive changes of government.

"Cross-party cooperation isn't just about saying the right things before an election. It's about demonstrating that commitment through decisions that endure."

That reflects a wider concern in the sector about policy instability, shifting priorities and stop-start delivery. Large transport, energy, water and social infrastructure projects often run across multiple electoral cycles, making political continuity a recurring issue for contractors, investors and public agencies.

Three priorities

Infrastructure New Zealand highlighted three areas it believes deserve immediate attention from the next Parliament: a clear economic ambition for the country, a funded and sequenced infrastructure pipeline, and a long-term energy plan.

The emphasis on a sequenced pipeline points to one of the sector's longstanding concerns: governments often announce projects without enough clarity on timing, funding or delivery order. Industry groups argue that a more predictable list of priorities would help both public agencies and private firms allocate resources and prepare investment decisions.

The call for a long-term energy plan also comes as New Zealand faces pressure to manage demand growth, decarbonisation goals and resilience concerns at the same time. Transport, electricity and industrial policy are increasingly linked, raising the stakes for governments trying to coordinate investment choices.

"These are fundamental to New Zealand's economic success. We can spend years debating the best way to achieve them, or we can build on the areas where we already agree and get on with the work.

"That means settling on the tools to fund and finance, and then using those tools to deliver real projects that New Zealanders can enjoy in their daily lives."

Reference point

The scorecard is not designed to declare a winner among the parties. Instead, the organisation describes it as a reference point for voters, the infrastructure industry and lawmakers as coalition negotiations and parliamentary work begin.

Infrastructure New Zealand represents more than 150 organisations, including government agencies, consultants, contractors, financiers, utilities and academics. Its members collectively employ about 150,000 people in infrastructure-related roles, giving the association a broad view across public and private delivery.

The group also framed the scorecard as part of a wider push for evidence-based decisions and greater long-term certainty. For the sector, that means not only deciding what to build, but also agreeing how projects are funded, financed and prioritised over time.

"The scorecard isn't a conclusion. It's a beginning. Infrastructure New Zealand will work with every party willing to help make that happen.

"The solutions to our infrastructure challenges need support across all parties in Parliament, and across different governments, so we don't get lurches in policy or stop-start projects.

"We'll keep asking the questions, tracking the commitments made during this campaign and measuring whether they translate into real progress for New Zealanders."