National will continue our aim of giving every New Zealand child the opportunity to succeed through education by committing $4.8 billion in new spending to school infrastructure.

In line with National’s commitment to shift New Zealand’s approach to infrastructure from a just-in-time strategy to one of early delivery, we will develop a thirty-year growth plan and commit $2.8 billion to its first decade, on top of funding that has already been allocated.

This will see about 60 new schools and sufficient new classrooms built at existing schools to meet demand for an extra 100,000 students within a decade.

National’s commitment to delivering world-class education infrastructure also includes $2 billion to fast-track repairs and upgrades through its Fix New Zealand Schools Alliance.

National will:

• Develop a 30-year growth plan for new schools and classrooms that will be reviewed and updated annually.
• Commit $2.8 billion in new spending to fully fund the first ten years of the plan.
• Invest another $2 billion in new spending to fast-track school repairs and upgrades over the first five years.
• Continue to allocate funding for education infrastructure on a rolling ten-year basis.

National Party Leader Judith Collins says as much money as possible will be spent early in the first decade to deliver new schools and classrooms to areas that need them urgently.

“This will accelerate our Covid-19 economic recovery and create a more stable, long-term project pipeline that enables the construction sector to gear up for delivery.”

National’s Education spokesperson Nicola Willis says the current Government has funded less than half of the forecast 100,000 school places required over the next ten years.

“Too many schools wait too long for the new classrooms they need, forcing them to convert libraries and halls into teaching spaces. This is bad for teaching and learning, and it reduces the facilities that should be available to schools. This must change.

“While the potential demographic impact of Covid-19 is still unclear, it’s likely that Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga and Queenstown will need extra investment to accommodate students as their populations grow.”

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