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Government announces new infrastructure entity to help drive economic growth

Author
Newstalk ZB Staff,
Publish Date
Fri, 17 Aug 2018, 5:22PM
Shane Jones made the announcement today (Image / NZH)

Government announces new infrastructure entity to help drive economic growth

Author
Newstalk ZB Staff,
Publish Date
Fri, 17 Aug 2018, 5:22PM

It's hoped a new independent infrastructure entity will help the country better meet future infrastructure needs, while improving long-term economic performance.

He says the country faces a major infrastructure deficit, and no concrete plan to tackle it.

"This is our Government responding to the key leaders of the infrastructure industry," he says.

"They're the ones who told me they've been promoting the idea for ages, and no one has ever picked it up."

LISTEN ABOVE AS SHANE JONES SPEAKS WITH LARRY WILLIAMS 

Jones made the announcement at the Building Nations Symposium.

The new entity is aimed at providing certainty to make it easier to make the right investments at the right time.

He says it's purely a Labour and New Zealand First idea and not one stolen from National.

"I picked up this idea, I've been the steward [and] taken it through the cabinet committee process with the advice from Treasury and I think the industry should be very proud that the Government is delivering something that industry wanted"

However, National Leader Simon Bridges disagrees.

He says the infrastructure commission was a National policy.

"We announced it pretty clearly and Shane Jones has now nabbed it," Bridges says.

"In a sense, good on him, although I do think there are real worries about the certainty of big projects coming through that the infrastructure sector wants to see ."

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