Election outlook - party policies

September 2017

With uncertainty about who will form our Government after the 23 September elections, we take a look at several of the key sectors we work in and each political party’s policies.

WATER
There have been two contrasting statements on water quality from the Government and opposition parties.

National Party
National has announced $44 million in further funding from its Freshwater Improvement Fund (including for the Waimea Dam), and funding for two irrigation schemes.

The Government has gazetted its updated National Policy Statement, and Regional Councils have until 31 March 2018 to set preliminary regional targets for freshwater quality.

Regional Councils’ implementation of the NPS will largely inform what happens in each region in terms of investment in river and lake clean-up and will have an impact on larger infrastructure projects as well.

Opposition parties
The Labour and Green Parties are both campaigning on introducing a charge on all commercial uses of water. The details will be worked through following nationwide consultation. The Labour Party has indicated its preferred price would be in the region of 1-2c per 1000 litres of water, raising $100 million across the agricultural sector.

The Green Party has indicated that a different regime might apply to hydro generators, while Labour has excluded hydro altogether.

Labour’s policy excludes water takes from municipal water supplies.

Both parties recognise iwi interests and Treaty claims over water would need to be resolved before a charge could be introduced. In reality this raises extremely complex legal issues which will take many years to be resolved. The likelihood of the policy coming to full fruition in the first term of a Labour/Green Government is therefore low.

The lack of detail on the policy has alarmed the rural sector – particularly Federated Farmers, Horticulture New Zealand and Irrigation New Zealand. The overall implications for water infrastructure are: • Charges on all irrigation schemes, affecting the viability of new and existing projects;

• Greater restrictions on dairy intensification, possibly via a new National Policy Statement.
• Funding for dams and other projects directed to Regional Councils via the royalty scheme, rather than through the Freshwater Improvement Fund.
• No direct impact on urban water.

New Zealand First
New Zealand First does not support the water charges proposed by Labour and the Greens. Should Labour form a government with New Zealand First following the election, they may need to revise some or all elements of the policy.

NZ First is focused on the rural sector and winning votes in regional New Zealand, indicating this would be a priority for them in any coalition negotiations with the Labour Party.

TRANSPORT

National Party
The National Party has recently released its full Transport policy. You can expect more of the same – there are unlikely to be any surprises or significant new projects which have not been previously signalled.

In Auckland, the Government is pleased with the impact of the Waterview Tunnel, which in their minds has alleviated some of the immediate pressure to invest in rail to the Airport. National continues to resist calls to include a rail connection to the North Shore in the second harbour crossing. Ministers are aware of challenges with the City Rail Link and will pay close attention to the project.

Funding has been announced for the electrification of rail to Pukekohe, and a third main line from Wiri to Westfield. In general, however, the Government has muted enthusiasm for rail and particularly light rail.

National opposes the introduction of regional fuel taxes – mainly for political reasons rather than any philosophical or economic justification. Privately their position is that there is “plenty of money in the kitty” so no need to bother with unpopular new taxes.

In Wellington, Government funding for transport projects is contingent on Let’s Get Welly Moving and local government decisions. The Prime Minister has repeatedly expressed willingness to invest in Wellington but the Government will not step in over the Council’s leadership.

Opposition parties
Labour has released their transport policy, which includes:

• A light rail network from the CBD to the central suburbs, airport, and West Auckland within the next 10 years.
• A new Bus Rapid Transit line from Howick to the airport.
• New cross-town bus priority routes including New Lynn-Flat Bush, Point Chevalier-Botany, Silverdale-Whangaparaoa, and Howick-Glenfield.
• Regional fuel taxes to fund the acceleration of these projects.

The Green Party has not yet released its full transport policy. Their 2014 policy involved scrapping proposed projects such as the East West Link, and using the funding for public transport projects.

The Greens have set a target for 25 per cent of freight to be moved by rail within 10 years; and will electrify rail between Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga. There is no signal from the Labour or Green parties about the intended process to get procurement of these projects up and running to the timelines they have indicated.

BUILDING AND HOUSING

In early August, the Government released the latest National Construction Pipeline Report. Residential, commercial and infrastructure building activity is forecast to continue to boom for the next three years at least. The report projects 100,000 homes will be built over the next three years. It also shows new construction spreading to the regions rather than just the main centres.

No political party, other than the ACT Party, has yet released policy on Resource Management Act reform. National has campaigned on RMA reform for the last two elections, but passed a watered down version of the RMA Amendment Bill last year. It is doubtful whether National will be able to pass further reform without achieving an outright majority in Parliament.

The Government considers its Housing Infrastructure Fund a success and this is likely to be enhanced in the next term of government, providing opportunities in local infrastructure projects.