Industry and Trade Development
New Zealand First has promised a buy-back of the 2013 Assets Sales (i.e. Meridian, Mighty River Power – now Mercury - and Genesis) at their original sales price. This will cost approximately $4.3b.
The Green’s have proposed a new ‘Green Infrastructure Fund’ of $110m.
Infrastructure
United Future has proposed to build a Ngauranga Gorge Tunnel. Using the per/km costs of the Waterview Tunnel, this is expected to cost $2.66b.
New Zealand First has proposed an Infrastructure Equalization Fund ($100m per year), and a Northland Rail (estimated at $850m), and 200km of new median barriers on high-speed roads ($443m).
The Maori Party’s ‘IwiRail’ will cost $1.6b over three years.
The Green Party has promised a $860m investment in the electrification of Rail between Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga; new electric car charging stations ($10m); and a passenger train service from Palmerston North to Napier (6.1m). The Greens will also build Light Rail from the Wellington Train Station to Newtown and to the Airport by 2027. This is estimated to cost approximatley $670m (or $67m per year over the next ten years). Other transport funding includes the trial of a Tauranga-Hamilton-Auckland Train Service, costing $20m over five years, $40m for Trolley Buses, $30m toward priority lanes and traffic signals for buses, $13.5m per year for urban cycleway funding, $21m for a new Upper Hutt to Trentham rail track, and $0.25m per year funding for Palmerston North to Wellington Rail.
National has announced the ‘Crown Infrastructure Partners’: a crown entity that will assist funding of new infrastructure without requiring an upfront investment by Councils. The Government has initially announced $600m of funding through this entity. As well as a further $231m to rebuild damaged Kaikoura Infrastructure.
National has also announced a new transport infrastructure package, predominantly in Auckland with some minor new spending in Wellington. The announcement includes a new Mill Road highway, a Northern Western busway, electrification of rail between Papakura and Pukekohe. Aside from the Rail projects, which are projected to be completed within the next three years, these other projects have been projected to take approximately ten years to deliver therefore there respective costs have been assumed to be linearly distributed over that period. The combined cost of these transport announcements is $989m over the next parliamentary term. They have also announced new irrigation funding of $1.1m.
National’s Roads of National Significance package will build ten new state highways over ten years at a cost of $10.5b. Assuming the cost is evenly spread over this period, this equates to $3.15b over three years.
National has committed $120m to the build of a new Christchurch stadium.
Labour has an extensive transport package. Labour has planned for $680m of spending on Auckland Rail and $100m for Christchurch transport. Labour has announced two new ‘Light Rail’ – or Tram – developments in Auckland. These are expected to take ten years to complete so, like we have treated all other policies in this regard, have assumed the cost is linearly distributed over that period. Under this assumption, the cost of these two new projects will be $957m over the next parliamentary term.
Other Labour transport policies include the doubling in funding for Regional rail (equivalent to approximately $105m per year) as well as the implementation of a trial rail service between Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga ($20m over five years). This will be supplemented by $22m in funding for a new line between Trentham and Upper Hutt, a renew of the Urban Cycleways Fund ($100m over three years) and $30m for the Auckland Skypath.
Innovation, Science and Technology
ACT has promised to abolish corporate welfare of $1.125b per annum (or $3.375b over the next term).
Housing Development
Labour’s KiwiBuild is estimated at $2b.
National has announced new social housing in Ohariu ($48.5m), the Hutt ($76.8m) and Greater Christchurch ($46.3m). As well as a Housing Infrastructure Fund. The investment which will provide interest-free loans to Councils to speed up infrastructure development in new housing areas. The fund is estimated to deliver $1b in loans over ten years. For simplicity, we have assumed the incidence of loan is distributed linearly (i.e. $100m a year).
The Green Party has proposed to increase Housing New Zealand funding by approximately $207m and a progressive home ownership policy costing $200m.
Subsidies
National will double the grants available to first home buyers at a projected to cost approximately $74m per year.
TOP will subsidise fruit and vegetables to the tune of $1b per year through a 20 percent tax on all junk food.