One of the big learnings for me in the last two years is the urgent need to pour resourcing into building Auckland’s infrastructure.
This infrastructure underpins our housing and the intensification of our city so it is also about making our economy environmentally sustainable.
Unfortunately these big projects tend to become politicised and this can distract people from an incredibly important building block in a society, whatever your politics, having fit for purpose infrastructure in a city that is going to double in size is a no-brainer.
The Infrastructure Commission is an independent body chaired by former reserve bank governor Alan Bollard, someone none of us could accuse of being politically biased towards the left. The commission has estimated there is a 31 billion dollar gap in our infrastructure per year. This is a wee bit under one tenth of our GDP.
That is something we need to face. I have been worried to hear National MP, the honourable David Bennett, who sits with me on the Transport and Infrastructure Select Committee, suggest that this is exaggerated.
The whole point of the commission is to depoliticise this issue as it is a difficult fact to face politically, but there is no doubt that there is an infrastructure deficit in this country and the government is going about the job of fixing it.
This is why we are seeing the focus on transport projects across Auckland, and $3.1 billion of spending on the infrastructure required to build more homes and the re-organisation of storm-water, waste water and drinking water infrastructure. I considerate reform in this area is still not well understood.
This is all about creating large enough bodies to allow scale and expertise to build and manage the pipes. The separation of the entities is necessary if they are going to be able to borrow the money to build to the standard necessary, so that the water that ends up in the Hauraki Gulf is clean.
I for one would like my kids (and hopefully grandchildren one day) to be able to swim at the North Shore beaches without checking each time that they are safe. We have been luckier in Auckland than most with Watercare, but the plan is to get things into complete order across the country and yes, be able to swim at our beaches.
I do sometimes get frustrated by the fact Labour is often criticised for being committed to growth. I have listened to the arguments for “de-growth”.
I believe we most certainly need to grow, but I accept it is not the be-all-and-end-all, and all growth needs to be sustainable. Climate change in part, is caused by not having considered the cost of unsustainable growth.
Climate change is contributing to that infrastructure deficit. Again the Infrastructure Commission estimates $5 billion of council infrastructure across the motu is vulnerable to sea-level rise. In addition, many of those potholes in our roads come from erosion because of climate change. (HELEN WHITE)
This article is funded by Parliamentary Services.
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