Dear John,

I've been in Auckland for the last few days for the big NZ Infrastructure Investment Summit. The Prime Minister and I have been hosting over 100 delegates from around the world who are interested in investing in New Zealand. It's been an incredibly exciting couple of days as we showcase New Zealand as "open for business" and ready to for foreign investment to help grow the economy and lift our living standards.

We have representatives from companies in charge of over $6 trillion of capital ready for deployment around the world - and our government is determined to partner with the private sector in redressing our infrastructure deficit.

I made three significant announcements at the Summit.

First off, we're opening expressions of interest for stage one of the new Northland Expressway ([link removed]) . This will be a game-changing project for Northland, and it'll be an economic enabler like the Waikato Expressway has been for Waikato. We aim to start construction in late 2026 and there is strong international interest in bidding for the road, which will be delivered by a PPP, likely with a toll attached.

Second, we're doing further work on a new harbour crossing for Auckland ([link removed]) . The existing Auckland Harbour Bridge is one of the most critical transport links in New Zealand, carrying around 184,000 vehicles including 12,000 freight vehicles and 35,000 bus passengers daily. Advancing an additional harbour crossing is a priority for this Government and it will be one of the most significant transport investments in New Zealand in decades, with the potential to significantly grow our economy and create thousands of jobs and opportunities for New Zealanders.

We expect to make decisions on whether a bridge or a tunnel is the preferred option around the middle of next year. As a multi-billion-dollar, intergenerational mega-project, it’s critical that we look for innovative ways to finance and deliver it. We also need to draw on the experience of companies and countries who’ve built mega-projects like this more recently than we have in New Zealand – because, let’s be honest, because we haven’t done anything at this level of complexity or cost in a long time.

Thirdly, I announced that the Government is exploring toll concessions as a tool for delivering important new roads faster and more efficiently ([link removed]) . New Zealand already has three existing toll roads in Auckland and Tauranga, and three more in construction or development. All our new roads, such as our Roads of National Significance, are being assessed for tolling. A toll concession is where a private company, called the concessionaire, is granted the right to operate and maintain a toll road for a set period of time, and collects the revenue from it to offset their costs and provide a return on investment. In return, the Government receives an up-front capital payment which it can reinvest into new roading projects, potentially bringing them forward by years. These models have been very successful overseas (like in NSW) in getting roads built more quickly. So we will be talking to the market in
the coming months about what could be done in New Zealand.

Overall it's been a fantastic couple of days with Ministers presenting on the pipeline of opportunities in health, education, aquaculture, mining, resources, clean energy, advanced transportation, and more.

Wellington issues: Closer to home, we obviously have real infrastructure issues in the Hutt and wider Wellington region. The news last week ([link removed]) about Wellington Water was appalling - it found structural problems and theft at the agency, and said the capital's ratepayers were paying nearly three times more for water repairs than in other parts of the country. The news sparked a massive round of unedifying finger pointing and a good old-fashioned blame game. Wellington Water is basically a glorified committee - the councils in the region own all of their own water assets and they've run them badly over many years. The ultimate answer to all of this is the government's "Local Water Done Well" water reforms, which require the councils to come up with a new entity that is financially sustainable with proper commercial governance. They have until September 1 to come up with the plan, and if
they don't, we will take action.

Around the Hutt: It's also been a busy couple of weeks around the Hutt. Thanks to everyone who came by the Riverbank Markets last weekend to say hello - it was good to catch up. I also really enjoyed the Epuni School Gala last Friday, opening the new AJ Motors store in Petone, and the new community wellness clinic in central Hutt.

Have a great weekend.

Chris
NZ Infrastructure Investment Summit
Speaking at the Infrastructure Investment Summit.
Shihad 'Loud Forever' Tour
Popped out of the summit on Wednesday for one of Shihad's final shows!
Northland Expressway is Underway 2026
We are getting on with the Northland Expressway, a new four lane road from Warkworth to Whangarei. Connecting Northland to the Auckland region through a new expressway will unlock economic growth, boost productivity and drive higher living standards for Northlanders and Aucklanders. Construction is due to begin in late 2026.
NZ Boat Register
Justin from NZ Boat Register stopped by my office to tell me about their new business - they've developed a boat register to improve boat identification across New Zealand, making it easier for boat owners, authorities, and community members to identify and return vessels that may have drifted or been misplaced.

We're holding NFC-enabled Boat ID tags, which allow boat owners to mark their vessels with a unique, scannable identifier. This technology means that anyone who finds a boat can simply scan or tap the tag to access information that helps link it back to its registered owner.
Riverbank Markets
Jeremy stopped by the Riverbank Markets last weekend :)
Epuni School Twilight Gala

Can’t resist a cheeky school gala sausage. Thanks Epuni School! Lovely Hutt evening and wonderful twilight gala.
100th Anniversary of The Wellington Indian Association
An incredible community organisation!
Brit & European Classic Car Show

Jeremy/Dad day last Sunday at the Auckland Brit and European Classic car show in Pakuranga. Good to catch up with local MP and local legend Simeon Brown.
The Hutt's New Community Wellness Clinic

Great to join Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey at the opening of a new community wellness clinic in the Hutt, a partnership between Health Zealand’s Community Mental Health service and PACT, an NGO that provides a broad range of services to people with mental health issues.

A great example of how NGOs and clinical specialist services are working together to deliver care closer to the community for those who need it. It aligns with one of the Government’s five mental health targets, specifically around ‘Faster access to specialist mental health and addiction services.
Opening of AJ Motors

Congrats to AJ Motors on their 11th store! The new Petone site opened a couple of weeks ago and it was a pleasure to formally open it alongside my friend Carlos Cheung MP.
Happy Holi!

A Happy Holi to all of my Indian friends.
Canterbury Mayoral Forum

I had a meeting with the Canterbury Mayoral Forum while they were in Wellington. This forum includes 11 member councils from the Canterbury region. It was a great opportunity to have them all in the same room to talk about their regional priorities like transport and RMA reform.

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