Watch: PM Christopher Luxon targets infrastructure in latest quarterly plan for government

5:01 pm on 30 September 2024

The Prime Minister has announced the completion of all but one of the items on the third-quarter plan, and unveiled a new one with 43 targets.

The "partially completed" third-quarter plan item was to publish an updated health workforce plan.

With Commissioner Lester Levy appointed to lead Health NZ Te Whatu Ora, the government says a new national health workforce plan will now be considered by Cabinet in the next quarter.

The new plan also focuses on infrastructure, with items including the passing of the Fast-Track Approvals Bill and the first RMA reform bill, establishing the National Infrastructure Agency, and starting the review of regulations for a third sector.

It also includes the promised expansion of free breast cancer screening, more consequences for beneficiaries not meeting obligations, and legislation to combat foreign interference.

Luxon says the government is shifting focus now that interest rates are falling, towards "creating the foundations for growth".

It follows large protests over the weekend against the government's announcement last Thursday that it would look to scale down construction of the new Dunedin Hospital, keeping it within the funding envelope of $1.9 billion.

A report suggested the costs had increased to about $3b.

Asked about that, Luxon said he understood the frustration, but "we can't have a project like that blowing out and heading towards a $3b cost.

"Rest assured, we're committing to building a new hospital but it needs to be within the budget frame ... even at $1.9b it would be amongst one of the most expensive hospitals in the southern hemisphere."

He said New Zealand could not have situations like what the government "inherited around cost blowouts", pointing to the Interislander ferries and school buildings projects.

Rebuild the economy and ease the cost of living

1. Pass the Fast-track Approvals Bill to speed up delivery of regional and national projects of significance
2. Pass the first Resource Management Amendment Bill to reduce the regulatory burden on farmers and the primary sector
3. Introduce the government's second RMA reform Bill to Parliament to cut through the tangle of red and green tape holding back growth in the infrastructure, energy, housing, and farming sectors
4. Establish the National Infrastructure Agency
5. Take Cabinet decisions on funding and financing tools to get more housing built
6. Introduce legislation to make it easier to build offshore wind farms
7. Take Cabinet decisions on allowing greater use of road tolling to support the delivery of transport infrastructure
8. Take Cabinet decisions on measures to get local councils back to basics
9. Finalise the development of farm-level emissions measurement methodology
10. Announce policy direction to limit farm conversions to forestry on high-quality land to protect food production
11. Pass legislation to complete the removal of agriculture from the Emissions Trading Scheme
12. Take Cabinet decisions to streamline regulations around food safety export exemptions
13. Pass legislation to reverse the ban on oil and gas exploration
14. Release a discussion document on the Regulatory Standards Bill
15. Initiate a third regulatory sector review to identify and remove unnecessary red tape
16. Pass legislation extending deadlines for earthquake prone buildings to enable a review of the current settings
17. Pass the Contracts of Insurance Bill to better protect Kiwis in the event of a disaster
18. Take Cabinet decisions on the future of the greyhound racing industry
19. Introduce legislation to ensure the financial sustainability of the racing industry
20. Publish the final second emissions reduction plan to deliver the first two emissions budgets
21. Take Cabinet decisions on opportunities to partner with the private sector to plant trees, including natives, on Crown land (excluding National Parks) that has low conservation or agricultural value
22. Pass legislation to allow lotteries for non-commercial purposes to operate online, cutting red tape to make fundraising more effective
23. Take final design decisions on the primary legislation for an online casino gambling regulator
24. Introduce legislation to remove the GE ban and enable the safe use of gene technology in agriculture, health science and other sectors

Restore law and order

25. Introduce legislation to support Government agencies to combat foreign interference in New Zealand
26. Introduce legislation to address stalking
27. Introduce legislation to enable stronger consequences for serious youth offending
28. Publish the second action plan on family and sexual violence
29. Introduce legislation to tighten registration requirements for child sex offenders

Deliver better public services

30. Begin delivery of new cancer treatments
31. Begin phased rollout of expansion of free breast cancer screening for women to age 74
32. Release first quarterly health target data for cancer treatment, immunisation, emergency departments, specialist assessments, and elective treatment
33. Introduce legislation to update and modernise the Mental Health Act
34. Launch an updated Smokefree Action Plan to continue progress towards the Smokefree 2025 goal
35. Pass legislation to tighten controls on youth vaping, including a ban on disposable devices
36. Begin trial of phonics checks in English and te reo Māori for students in their first two years of school
37. Release final curriculum for English, maths, Te Reo Rangatira, and Pāngarau for use in primary schools in 2025
38. Release a Māori Education Action Plan focussed on lifting the achievement of Māori students
39. Commence a review of the funding formula for independent school
40. Negotiate contracts with, and announce, the first charter schools
41. Introduce legislation to expand the Traffic Light System to include additional consequences for beneficiaries who do not meet their obligations
42. Provide 10,000 jobseeker beneficiaries with an over-the-phone case manager to help them move from welfare into work
43. Open applications for the contaminated sites and vulnerable landfills fund to support local authorities to remediate contaminated sites