Infrastructure refers to the fixed, long-lived structures that facilitate the production of goods and services, including transport, water, energy, social assets, and digital infrastructure such as our broadband and mobile networks.
New Zealand’s infrastructure faces a number of challenges, including the need to renew ageing infrastructure, the pressures of an aging and urbanising population, tight fiscal constraints, changing technology, the effects of climate change, and the increased pressure on our natural resources.
Our Role
The Treasury is the Government’s lead economic and financial adviser, and is also the primary advisor to the Minister for Infrastructure. This means that the Treasury provides advice to both the Minister for Infrastructure and the Minister of Finance on infrastructure issues, primarily:
- the performance of the stock of physical assets that underpin the functioning of the economy, specifically network and utility systems such as transport, water, communications and energy;
- the quality of investment in, and long-run management of, key infrastructure (including areas of large capital expenditure) such as schools, hospitals and prisons; and
- as primary advisor for the infrastructure portfolio, the Treasury also leads advice on the funding and financing of infrastructure, including PPP policy.
The Treasury also monitors the performance of three other Crown infrastructure entities: National Infrastructure Funding and Financing Limited, the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission - Te Waihanga, and Crown Infrastructure Delivery.
