NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Premium
Home / New Zealand

Covid 19 coronavirus: Yolanda Huo: Economic stimulus post-pandemic crisis

By Yolanda Huo
NZ Herald·
7 May, 2020 05:00 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Could the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge be an example of New Zealand's path out of the economic slump caused by the Covid-19 coronavirus? Photo / Joe Chen, Getty Images

Could the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge be an example of New Zealand's path out of the economic slump caused by the Covid-19 coronavirus? Photo / Joe Chen, Getty Images

Opinion

COMMENT

If I were Prime Minister, I would do three things to stimulate the economy and crank up businesses to take New Zealand out of the economic conundrum caused by Covid-19.

First of all, let's move Ports of Auckland's freight operations to Northport, now. The ports, which would still be used for cruise ships and ferries, should be part of a tourist attraction or a mega CBD centre. It could be a starting point to open up Auckland's waterfront, linking the Harbour Bridge to Mission Bay and St Heliers with cafes and shops dotted along the picturesque route.

READ MORE:
• Covid 19 coronavirus: Global economic pain sets in
• Covid 19 coronavirus: World economies plunge while hopes rest on treatment
• Coronavirus Covid 19: Nanogirl - Would economy have fared far better without lockdown?
• Covid-19 coronavirus: S&P Global - NZ financial system successfully navigating crisis

There were rumblings of annoyance recently at ews that a five-story parking building would be built on Bledisloe Wharf to accommodate the current open-space storage for imported, largely second-hand, cars.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Moving the ports will revitalise the Northland Region and free up Auckland's land, roads and sea.

A recent Government report found that upgrading Northport, a deep-water commercial port near Whāngārei, would cost about $10 billion; investment that would create jobs and revitalise the region. It would require a new railway line to connect Northport to the main trunk line.

Second, build a comprehensive network of railways, even bullet trains, to connect Auckland to Hamilton, Tauranga, Palmerston North and Wellington and then, via a tunnel or a bridge across Cook Strait, to the South Island.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

With an efficient rail network, the housing crisis in Auckland would ease. Some teachers, for example, who may not be able to afford a house in Auckland, could comfortably buy one in Hamilton and commute easily between the two cities.

International studies have found rail travel is greener and more productive than driving or flying. Trains help alleviate traffic congestion and pollution and provide a safety valve for crowded cities.

Discover more

Opinion

Covid 19: A time for trickle-up economics

04 May 05:00 PM
Opinion

Covid 19: What to do with universities?

03 May 10:49 PM
Opinion

Covid 19: Move to level 2 no walk in the park

05 May 05:00 PM
Opinion

Covid 19 recovery projects need caution

05 May 10:56 PM

Third, it appears we have reached some consensus that Auckland may need a tunnel rather than another harbour bridge, linking the CBD to the North Shore.

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website

An undersea tunnel allowing the transport of vehicles would create more space and less impact on the environment.

In the case of Wellington, however, it may go both ways to have either a tunnel or a bridge to connect Wellington to Picton.

Cook Strait is considered one of the most dangerous and unpredictable waters in the world. It is 22km wide at its narrowest point.

The waters separating England and France are equally as dangerous but this did not prevent the construction of the Channel Tunnel, a 50km railway tunnel beneath the English Channel at the Straits of Dover.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The same applies to the waters separating Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai, where China has successfully built a mega-bridge. The bridge is a 55km network consisting of a series of three cable-stayed bridges, an undersea tunnel, and four artificial islands.

According to BBC news, it is both the longest sea-crossing and the longest open-sea fixed link on earth. It is obviously one of the engineering marvels that amaze the world. If they could build it, why couldn't we?

There are several ways of funding and financing infrastructure.

Institutional investors with a stake in infrastructure have doubled in the past decade.

Allocations among the top 10 global public pension funds with infrastructure investments have more than quadrupled. The NZ Super Fund has already been active in that space. These trends are likely to continue even post-Covid-19.

Yolanda Huo. Photo / supplied
Yolanda Huo. Photo / supplied

In many instances, government development of infrastructure provides best value for money. Once infrastructure is developed, the private sector can play a role in operating and the concept of "user pays" can kick in to help sustain the projects.

Infrastructure funding and financing can actually derive from both sides of the equation – supply and demand.

Successes in Japan and Hong Kong have demonstrated that infrastructure can fuel real estate booms. "Rail Plus Property", as a model, capitalises on investment in new or upgraded rail stations by developing and then leasing or selling properties around them.

The McKinsey Global Institute estimates infrastructure has a socioeconomic rate of return around 20 per cent. In other words, $1 of infrastructure investment can raise GDP by 20
cents in the long run.

In any event, given the Covid-19 conundrum, we will need to be bold.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has done a great job in winning the war on this pandemic. The next step is to get those bold ideas assessed, tested and implemented.

• Yolanda Huo is a Year-13 student at St Cuthbert's College.

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

'Moving quite quickly': Fresh bout of wild weather to sweep across top of North Island

New Zealand

Missing Upper Hutt man found 'safe and well'

Wellington

Chung’s campaign group loses candidate amid email scandal


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

'Moving quite quickly': Fresh bout of wild weather to sweep across top of North Island
New Zealand

'Moving quite quickly': Fresh bout of wild weather to sweep across top of North Island

Heavy rain watches have been issued for Northland and Auckland from early tomorrow.

16 Jul 09:13 AM
Missing Upper Hutt man found 'safe and well'
New Zealand

Missing Upper Hutt man found 'safe and well'

16 Jul 08:37 AM
Chung’s campaign group loses candidate amid email scandal
Wellington

Chung’s campaign group loses candidate amid email scandal

16 Jul 08:10 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP