Christopher Luxon holds post-Cabinet press conference
The Government has published its first “action plan” of the year, pledging to use “every tool in the box” to increase foreign investment and improve the economy.
The plan, published on Monday, covers the period from January 1 to March 31 and includes 40 points across the cost of living, economy, law and order and improving public services.
It also covers the already-announced new “one-stop shop” agency Invest New Zealand and altering the settings of the so-called “golden visa” to attract wealthy investors to New Zealand.
Hosting an investment summit to show off the country’s investment opportunities to around 100 high-profile overseas investors, business leaders and construction companies is also one of the targets.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon hopes to pique attendees’ interest enough to inspire investments that boost “the growth New Zealand needs to lift our incomes, strengthen our businesses, and create opportunities for all Kiwis”.
“To make it clear we are open for business ... I will open the summit and many Cabinet ministers will be at the event to share the Government’s ambitions and plans over the two days,” he said.
“Attendees will be left in no doubt that New Zealand is a country worth investing in.”
The investor summit was about “unleashing the potential” New Zealand had to enable economic growth and address the country’s infrastructure deficit, estimated to be worth $100 billion.
Minister for Infrastructure Chris Bishop said that was the equivalent of 80 Transmission Gully motorways, three times the size of the country’s entire school property portfolio and eight times the size of the hospital network.
“Our infrastructure deficit is a major drag on productivity and growth and to fix it the Government has a massive programme of infrastructure investment over the next five years. We can’t buy our way out alone – we need to patch the leak and the leaky bucket using every tool in the toolbox.”
The summit will be held in Auckland on March 13-14 and will be limited to invite-only. Bishop claimed they were “over-subscribed” with interest.
He said there would be “investment opportunities” but the summit would be largely focused on the infrastructure pipeline that could attract investors. It would highlight opportunities in the coming years in a “clear and consistent pipeline”.
Bishop wouldn’t detail what investment projects were currently ready for investment.
Luxon spent much of the press conference fielding questions about Act leader and soon-to-be Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour. Hours earlier, Seymour had tried to drive a Land Rover up the steps of Parliament, a move Luxon labelled a “political sideshow.”
On Monday morning, it was also revealed Seymour had written a letter to police supporting Philip Polkinghorne during the investigation into his wife’s death. Luxon said Seymour’s decision was “ill-advised”, but he hadn’t broken the Cabinet Manual as he was not a Cabinet minister at the time.
The post-Cabinet press conference was bookended by two political polls which both found the left bloc would be able to form a Government, although National Party support was also up in both.
He said while he may travel in future he does not want the day to be “dominated” by the historic site.
The Government was represented at Waitangi by Seymour and other senior ministers and party leaders, including Winston Peters, Shane Jones, Tama Potaka, Shane Reti, Paul Goldsmith and Erica Stanford.
Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.
