A lack of investment in infrastructure is eroding Kiwis’ quality of life - Editorial

A worker at the scene of a burst pipe, which has become a common sight in Wellington. Photo / Jack Crossland

Editorial

• Minister for Rail Winston Peters and Transport Minister Chris Bishop announced $604.6 million for rail upgrades in Budget 2025.
• New Zealand’s infrastructure deficit is estimated at $210 billion, affecting health, education, and water systems.
• Finance Minister Nicola Willis will unveil the Government’s Budget at 2pm today.

One of the last pre-Budget announcements was made at Wellington’s central train station this week.

It was an important one. Minister for Rail Winston Peters and Transport Minister Chris Bishop said $604.6 million of funding in Budget 2025 will be spent upgrading and renewing rail.

The money was described as “overdue and critical”.

It certainly is, but our rusting rail yards are just the tip of New Zealand’s enormous infrastructure deficit, estimated to be at least $210 billion.

For decades, successive governments have acted selfishly and said this is a problem for future ministers to solve.

We have failed to invest the necessary funds required to not just maintain our current services but prepare the country for success in the future.

The majority of our hospitals were built at a time when the country had a population of about three million. Expecting the same infrastructure to perform at a modern level with a population approaching double that is not just unrealistic but also reckless.

As a result we have seen many of our health metrics slide backwards.

We see the crowded classrooms our children attend, the congested roads on our way to work, or the ageing water systems when a 100-year-old pipe bursts and floods our street.

For a FirstWorld country, it is unacceptable for some of us to have seen our quality of life fall because of a lack of basic infrastructure.

We’ve seen towns under boil water notices for months and then years. Shockingly in Marlborough there were about 250 people under a boil water notice since 1995.

Aucklanders routinely are told their beaches are unsafe every time there is a significant rainfall, with overflowing drains contaminating what should be the jewel in the city’s crown - its harbour.

The good people of the East Coast and Northland have been forgotten by those in Parliament and the Wellington ministry offices.

Two-lane bridges and safe roads shouldn’t need to be an election promise every three years to win votes.

And in a modern world, who amongst us would have thought two decades ago we would face an annual winter energy crisis?

With every passing year the infrastructure we need gets more expensive and therefore more difficult to build.

We know the economic conditions this year are not favourable for Finance Minister Nicola Willis to splash cash to every area of need.

But today what she and the Government must show every New Zealander is that they have a path to prosperity.

And that plan must start now.

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