Infrastructure New Zealand (INZ) has released its Election 2026 Manifesto (the Manifesto),¹ setting out eight priorities it says the next Government must act on to reverse decades of infrastructure underperformance, unlock economic growth and strengthen health and education outcomes.

The case for action

The Manifesto's central argument is that New Zealand's infrastructure challenge is one of system, not spending. Between 2010 and 2019, New Zealand was the highest public infrastructure spender in the OECD yet ranked 37^th out of 38 countries for efficiency. The result, INZ says, is a true infrastructure deficit of $1 trillion once lifecycle costs are properly counted. A culture of stop-start delivery has compounded the problem: pausing, cancelling and delaying projects is estimated to have cost the country $11.8 billion over the past 25 years, while a more certain pipeline could unlock between $2.3 and $4.7 billion in additional annual delivery.

Underlying these figures, the Manifesto identifies four structural failures. First, the country lacks a long-term growth direction, leading to investment decisions driven by electoral cycles rather than economic strategy. Second, the absence of a funded and sequenced pipeline deprives the private sector of the certainty it needs to build and retain capacity. Third, there is no mandatory framework for asset management, even though more than half of the country's public infrastructure is at or near the end of its useful life. Fourth, the delivery system is not fit for purpose: at the central level, procurement processes add unnecessary cost and complexity, while at the local level, councils have been left without adequate capability or fiscal tools.

Eight priorities for the next Government

The Manifesto’s eight priorities are:

1. Building for productivity and growth: INZ calls for a long-term national economic growth strategy that infrastructure investment actively serves, sustained across political cycles. Proposed actions include convening a National Economic Forum in 2027, directing the development of a National Economic Growth Strategy identifying priority growth sectors, and establishing a cross-party Parliamentary Infrastructure Group to build consensus across electoral cycles.
2. A long-term infrastructure programme: A 12-year funded and sequenced programme, approved by Parliament and reviewed every three years in the second year of each parliamentary term. Incoming governments would be required to continue delivering the existing programme for their first year before having an opportunity to review it. The Manifesto proposes amending the Public Finance Act to enable commitment to a 12-year funding envelope.
3. Growth Infrastructure Fund: A hypothecated fund managed by an autonomous Crown entity, insulated from political cycles, to fund growth-enabling infrastructure. INZ proposes capitalisation through dedicated revenue streams, Crown contributions, infrastructure-related levies, and proceeds from asset recycling, with all proceeds retained within the Fund rather than returned to general Crown expenditure. Projects would be assessed for PPP, concession, institutional investment and other partnership opportunities.
4. Look after what we have: Mandating asset management across the public sector through the Public Finance Act, with resilience planning embedded as a core requirement, backed by a $100 million capability fund. INZ highlights a sharp decline in the country's asset management standing: New Zealand now ranks fourth lowest out of 33 countries for infrastructure governance and last for asset management professionalism. By way of example, central government is renewing state highways at a rate equivalent to only 37 cents for every dollar of depreciation.
5. A system that actually delivers: Requiring all projects over $50 million to be procured and delivered through a centralised agency with dedicated commercial capability, modelled on the UK’s NISTA and drawing on the precedent of British Columbia’s Infrastructure BC. INZ also proposes public reporting on cost-benefit ratios, quarterly performance reporting, annual cost and schedule benchmarks by asset class, and post-implementation evaluations.
6. Empower cities and regions: A new fiscal settlement giving councils access to broader locally retained revenue tools, including visitor levies, congestion charging revenue, value capture on infrastructure-driven land value uplift, and a defined share of GST collected on new residential and commercial construction. This is proposed alongside long-term fiscal settlements with reformed councils, building on the city deals model.
7. Water stewardship: Designing the new water system with technical leadership and regulatory discipline from the outset. INZ proposes a dedicated Minister for Water, a Water Chief Engineer to drive coordination across water entities, and a Water Ombudsman for consumer accountability. The Manifesto identifies a water infrastructure investment requirement of between $120 billion and $185 billion over the next 30 years.
8. Unlocking energy: Identifying energy as a priority growth sector under a national economic growth strategy, backed by a long-term National Energy Plan. With electricity demand projected to increase by 68% by 2050 (requiring more than $100 billion of transmission and distribution investment), INZ proposes amending the Commerce Act’s input methodology settings to allow enabling investment in transmission infrastructure ahead of demand and reviewing the Transmission Pricing Methodology to reduce barriers to growth, electrification and regional development.

Measuring progress

As a means of accountability and progress reporting, INZ has indicated that it will publish progress reports at 100 days, 12 months and 36 months into the new parliamentary term and will engage with all parties regardless of who forms Government.

Our thoughts

With the general election fast approaching, the Manifesto represents a significant intervention from the infrastructure sector. Its central thesis, that New Zealand’s infrastructure problem is one of system rather than funding, will resonate with participants across the construction and infrastructure pipeline who have long called for greater certainty and longer planning horizons. Whether the incoming Government adopts these recommendations, and the legislative changes they would require (particularly to the Public Finance Act and Commerce Act), remains to be seen.

This article was co-authored by Shaun Watt, a Solicitor in our Construction and Infrastructure team. 

Footnote

¹ Infrastructure New Zealand Infrastructure New Zealand Election 2026 Manifesto (Infrastructure New Zealand, June 2026).