Latest news with #Christopher Luxon
RNZ News
4 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Watch: Govt says billions being spent on infrastruture will create thousands of jobs
The government on Sunday morning has released an infrastructure update showing $6 billion of government-funded construction is due to start between now and Christmas. The ministers who were visiting a construction site in Drury were due to speak to media at 10.30am. Their briefing can be viewed at the top of this story. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon also took part in the briefing. Minister for Economic Growth Nicola Willis and Minister for Infrastructure Chris Bishop said in a media release the projects would drive economic activity and create thousands of jobs across the country. "The projects getting underway include new roads, hospitals, schools, high-tech laboratories and other government buildings," Willis said. "That means spades in the ground, jobs throughout the country and a stronger economy. Minister for Economic Growth Nicola Willis. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii "Improving the quality of New Zealand's infrastructure is critical to growing the economy and helping Kiwis with the cost of living. "Good roads, schools and hospitals help business to move goods and services to market quickly and efficiently, children to learn and doctors and nurses to get patients back on their feet." The projects getting underway would create thousands of employment opportunities for New Zealanders, Bishop said. "Numbers vary according to the nature of projects, but data sourced from the Infrastructure Commission suggests each billion dollars of infrastructure investment per year equates to about 4500 jobs. "In total, workers are expected to start construction on $3.9 billion worth of roading projects in the next few months. They include the Ōtaki to north of Levin expressway, the Melling interchange, the Waihoehoe Road upgrade, and the new Ōmanawa bridge on SH29. All will help to lift productivity by getting people and freight to their destinations quickly and safely. "Health projects kicking off include upgrades to Auckland City Hospital, Middlemore Hospital, and the construction of a new acute mental health unit at Hutt Valley Hospital. Construction work on the new inpatients building at the new Dunedin Hospital has also just begun." Projects focused on improving school properties nearly $800 million in value would also be underway before the end of the year, he said. Minister for Infrastructure Chris Bishop. Photo: VNP/Louis Collins "Other government infrastructure projects due to start before the end of this year include a massive new state-of-the-art biosecurity facility in Auckland for the Ministry of Primary Industries and the Papakura District Court interim courthouse. "Importantly, this is just the start. The National Infrastructure Pipeline, managed by the Infrastructure Commission, now shows planned future projects totalling $207 billion across central government, local government and the private sector." Alongside the infrastructure update, Nicola Willis today released an update on the government's Infrastructure for Growth work programme. The update is the first refresh of the Going for Growth agenda launched in February to drive economic growth by backing business, improving infrastructure and skills, and removing barriers to innovation. The projects beginning construction include: Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
4 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Watch: Govt says billions being spent on infrastrastructure will create thousands of jobs
The government on Sunday morning has released an infrastructure update showing $6 billion of government-funded construction is due to start between now and Christmas. The ministers who were visiting a construction site in Drury were due to speak to media at 10.30am. Their briefing can be viewed at the top of this story. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon also took part in the briefing. Minister for Economic Growth Nicola Willis and Minister for Infrastructure Chris Bishop said in a media release the projects would drive economic activity and create thousands of jobs across the country. "The projects getting underway include new roads, hospitals, schools, high-tech laboratories and other government buildings," Willis said. "That means spades in the ground, jobs throughout the country and a stronger economy. Minister for Economic Growth Nicola Willis. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii "Improving the quality of New Zealand's infrastructure is critical to growing the economy and helping Kiwis with the cost of living. "Good roads, schools and hospitals help business to move goods and services to market quickly and efficiently, children to learn and doctors and nurses to get patients back on their feet." The projects getting underway would create thousands of employment opportunities for New Zealanders, Bishop said. "Numbers vary according to the nature of projects, but data sourced from the Infrastructure Commission suggests each billion dollars of infrastructure investment per year equates to about 4500 jobs. "In total, workers are expected to start construction on $3.9 billion worth of roading projects in the next few months. They include the Ōtaki to north of Levin expressway, the Melling interchange, the Waihoehoe Road upgrade, and the new Ōmanawa bridge on SH29. All will help to lift productivity by getting people and freight to their destinations quickly and safely. "Health projects kicking off include upgrades to Auckland City Hospital, Middlemore Hospital, and the construction of a new acute mental health unit at Hutt Valley Hospital. Construction work on the new inpatients building at the new Dunedin Hospital has also just begun." Projects focused on improving school properties nearly $800 million in value would also be underway before the end of the year, he said. Minister for Infrastructure Chris Bishop. Photo: VNP/Louis Collins "Other government infrastructure projects due to start before the end of this year include a massive new state-of-the-art biosecurity facility in Auckland for the Ministry of Primary Industries and the Papakura District Court interim courthouse. "Importantly, this is just the start. The National Infrastructure Pipeline, managed by the Infrastructure Commission, now shows planned future projects totalling $207 billion across central government, local government and the private sector." Alongside the infrastructure update, Nicola Willis today released an update on the government's Infrastructure for Growth work programme. The update is the first refresh of the Going for Growth agenda launched in February to drive economic growth by backing business, improving infrastructure and skills, and removing barriers to innovation. The projects beginning construction include: Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
4 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Watch live: Govt says billions being spent on infrastrastructure will create thousands of jobs
The government on Sunday morning has released an infrastructure update showing $6 billion of government-funded construction is due to start between now and Christmas. The ministers who were visiting a construction site in Drury were due to speak to media at 10.30am. Their briefing can be viewed at the top of this story. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon also took part in the briefing. Minister for Economic Growth Nicola Willis and Minister for Infrastructure Chris Bishop said in a media release the projects would drive economic activity and create thousands of jobs across the country. "The projects getting underway include new roads, hospitals, schools, high-tech laboratories and other government buildings," Willis said. "That means spades in the ground, jobs throughout the country and a stronger economy. Minister for Economic Growth Nicola Willis. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii "Improving the quality of New Zealand's infrastructure is critical to growing the economy and helping Kiwis with the cost of living. "Good roads, schools and hospitals help business to move goods and services to market quickly and efficiently, children to learn and doctors and nurses to get patients back on their feet." The projects getting underway would create thousands of employment opportunities for New Zealanders, Bishop said. "Numbers vary according to the nature of projects, but data sourced from the Infrastructure Commission suggests each billion dollars of infrastructure investment per year equates to about 4500 jobs. "In total, workers are expected to start construction on $3.9 billion worth of roading projects in the next few months. They include the Ōtaki to north of Levin expressway, the Melling interchange, the Waihoehoe Road upgrade, and the new Ōmanawa bridge on SH29. All will help to lift productivity by getting people and freight to their destinations quickly and safely. "Health projects kicking off include upgrades to Auckland City Hospital, Middlemore Hospital, and the construction of a new acute mental health unit at Hutt Valley Hospital. Construction work on the new inpatients building at the new Dunedin Hospital has also just begun." Projects focused on improving school properties nearly $800 million in value would also be underway before the end of the year, he said. Minister for Infrastructure Chris Bishop. Photo: VNP/Louis Collins "Other government infrastructure projects due to start before the end of this year include a massive new state-of-the-art biosecurity facility in Auckland for the Ministry of Primary Industries and the Papakura District Court interim courthouse. "Importantly, this is just the start. The National Infrastructure Pipeline, managed by the Infrastructure Commission, now shows planned future projects totalling $207 billion across central government, local government and the private sector." Alongside the infrastructure update, Nicola Willis today released an update on the government's Infrastructure for Growth work programme. The update is the first refresh of the Going for Growth agenda launched in February to drive economic growth by backing business, improving infrastructure and skills, and removing barriers to innovation. The projects beginning construction include: Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
14-07-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
National, Labour agree changes needed for weather-event buyouts
Major flood damage during this week's downpours in the Tasman distrcit. Photo: Tim Cuff / POOL The two major political parties want a bipartisan approach towards dealing with climate adaptation and property buy-outs during weather events. Last week, an independent reference group made recommendations for climate adaptation legislation, including that people should not expect the government to buy out severely weather-damaged homes. The group, set up by the Ministry for the Environment, recommended after a 20-year transition period, homeowners whose houses are flooded or damaged by weather events should not expect buyouts. It said individuals should be responsible for knowing the risks and making their own decisions about whether to move away from high-risk areas. no captoin. Photo: RNZ The group also recommended that funding for adaptation measures, such as flood schemes, sea walls and blue-green infrastructure, should follow a 'beneficiary pays' approach in most cases. While the government is yet to formally respond to the report, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said in principal, the government won't be able to keep bailing people out . He said Climate Change Minister Simon Watts had been working hard to get a bipartisan view on how to deal long term with these weather events. "This is a long term issue. We need a proper framework in place to work out whether its landowners, councils, whether its central government, banks, insurers that actually have to create a framework for dealing with these weather events an how we handle them going forward." Hipkins agreed that the frame work needs to be worked through on a bipartisan basis so the issue doesn't become a "political football". "We have to be realistic. Government is not going to be an insurer by default, but there are decisions that governments has taken, whether it's local government or central government, where houses can be built and there is some consequences for that," Hipkins told Morning Report. "We have a share of the liability here, but it doesn't mean we have all of the liability." While Hipkins would not say whether he agrees in principal to phase out the buyouts, he said whatever we come up with needs to be fair and consistent. "Fairness has to be at the heart of it," he said. Labour leader Chris Hipkins. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Finance Minister Nicola Willis told First Up the government is working to ensure councils are clear about natural hazard risks when they allow people to build. Willis said authorities must strike a balance between identifying hazard risks, and ensuring sufficient investment in infrastructure to prevent catastrophic damage. "You come to this question of when people know that they are building on a flood plain, or they know that the area they're building on is at very high risk, is it fair to ask tax payers to always bear the costs of that? And those are some of the questions that this independent have been working through," she said. Willis said extreme climate events are increasing and we can expect that to continue as a result of climate change. She said it is going to be important for New Zealand that we carefully plan where housing development occurs, what kinds of infrastructure we build and what investment we make into adaptation such as stopbanks. "We need to have frameworks as a country that work not just as an ad-hoc basis, but to the extent possible, can endure from one Parliament to the next because these are long-run issues, so long-run incentives are needed." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
