Labour’s Future Fund Proposal On The Right Track

Monday, 20 October 2025, 2:18 pm
Press Release: Infrastructure NZ

A Future Fund will secure Aotearoa’s future and is a positive step towards long-term infrastructure planning, Infrastructure New Zealand says. Labour’s proposed New Zealand Future Fund could also depoliticise key aspects of the funding process – a long overdue move.

“New Zealand’s infrastructure deficit is well-known and understood. However, solving it will take political courage, bold long-term thinking and the willingness to seek additional investment. A Future Fund as Labour has proposed has the potential to bring scale, certainty and domestic capital into the system to fund much needed infrastructure,” says Chief Executive Nick Leggett.

Leggett says Infrastructure New Zealand has long pushed for new ways to pay for infrastructure beyond relying on government funding.

“We welcome the focus on building an investment vehicle that can unlock large-scale, intergenerational infrastructure projects. Details matter. We need clear criteria for how the fund will prioritise infrastructure investment as well as how it can work alongside other forms of funding and financing. It is positive this fund is independent of day-to-day politics – and individual politicians.”

Leggett says the Future Fund should complement, not replace, other investment tools.

“PPPs, asset recycling and overseas private capital also have a big role to play in our future infrastructure story. A well-designed Future Fund should sit alongside these and possibly integrate some of them. There is potential for this fund to be a magnet that attracts additional private investment into blended capital situations – resulting in best value infrastructure, built earlier.”

“At its most effective, a Future Fund could support long-term national strategies like the Infrastructure Priorities Programme. No matter the flavour of the government of the day, we must build public and investor confidence and begin to methodically deliver projects that lift New Zealand’s economic productivity and address our communities’ needs and resilience.”

Infrastructure New Zealand is the nation’s leading infrastructure member association. Our core purpose is to advance best practice development of world-class transport, energy, water, telecommunications, and social infrastructure for all New Zealanders. We do this through research, advocacy, and public and private sector collaboration. Our membership is comprised of over 150 organisations, including central and local government agencies, consultants, contractors, financiers, utilities, and academics – collectively employing approximately 150,000 people in infrastructure-related roles. Together, we are committed to creating a better New Zealand through outstanding infrastructure.

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