In a brazen display of political opportunism, the National-led government, under Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, has attempted to claim credit for a $6 billion infrastructure package that is little more than a re-announcement of projects meticulously planned and funded for by the previous Labour government. Far from showcasing bold leadership, Luxon’s coalition has delayed critical projects and, in some cases, slashed their budgets, all while spinning a narrative of fiscal prudence. This Coalition of Chaos isn't only riding on Labour’s coattails, but also undermining New Zealand’s infrastructure progress through cuts, cancellations and misrepresentations.
Today, 1 News reported:
The Government has released an infrastructure update showing $6 billion of state-funded construction is due to start between now and Christmas.
The ministers who were visiting a construction site in Drury spoke to media this morning. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon also took part in the briefing.
Minister for Economic Growth Nicola Willis and Minister for Infrastructure Chris Bishop said in a media release that the projects would drive economic activity and create thousands of jobs across the country.
"The projects getting underway include new roads, hospitals, schools, high-tech laboratories and other government buildings," Willis said.
Consider the Ōtaki to Levin expressway, a vital roading project to ease congestion and boost regional connectivity. Labour’s Upgrade Programme in 2020 allocated $817 million for this project, with construction initially slated for 2022, but delayed due to planning and consenting processes. Under National, however, the project completely stalled, with start dates pushed out to late 2025 inflating costs by aproximately $783 million. Luxon’s government now touts this project as part of their $6 billion “new” infrastructure plan, conveniently glossing over Labour’s original funding and their own role in stalling progress.
The Dunedin Hospital redevelopment, another cornerstone of Labour’s health infrastructure investment, was budgeted for with $1.4 billion allocated in 2021, with construction underway by 2022. National’s coalition, however, delayed key phases, pushing full completion beyond 2028, cutting $200 million from the project’s budget in 2024, citing “cost efficiencies.” Yet, Chris Luxon, Chris Bishop, and Nicola Willis’ recent announcement framed the hospital as a new National Party achievement, completely ignoring their funding reductions that have strained its delivery.
School upgrades, including roll-growth classrooms, modular buildings designed to accommodate growing student numbers due to population increases, were part of Labour’s $3.9 billion education infrastructure package in 2020, with $400 million for the National Education Growth Plan to add 6,600 student places. National trimmed $150 million from this programme in Budget 2024, redirecting funds to charter schools that aren't going to be required to report student numbers. For anybody who's paying attention, National re-announcing these classroom projects as their own looks pretty damn stupid.
National’s cuts to infrastructure, particularly the cancellation of 3,500 Kāinga Ora state house builds, have triggered a severe downturn in the construction sector, exacerbating unemployment and driving thousands of skilled workers overseas. Labour’s $1.5 billion public housing investment was designed to deliver 18,000 homes by 2024, sustaining thousands of construction jobs. National’s decision to halt these builds (selling partially completed state houses and bare land to their mates at a loss), alongside $2 billion in school building cuts and cancelled hospital upgrades, has led to an estimated 15,000 job losses in the sector. A whopping 13,000 construction workers left New Zealand in 2024 alone, many to Australia, where demand remains strong. This exodus threatens the industry’s capacity to deliver future projects, as skilled tradespeople, including carpenters and electricians, are unlikely to return to New Zealand for lower wages and a higher cost of living, leaving the sector in a precarious state.
JUST ANNOUNCED: $6 billion worth of infrastructure projects are getting underway in the next few months, which will grow NZ’s economy and create thousands of jobs across the country. pic.twitter.com/yY3PLCUKkd
— NZ National Party (@NZNationalParty) July 19, 2025
But what makes the National Parties credit-grabbing particularly galling is their hypocrisy in criticising Labour for policies they inherited from John Key’s National government. Open-plan classrooms, once championed by Key’s administration with $1.2 billion invested between 2011 and 2016, are now derided by National Minister's who imply that they were Labour’s misstep, despite National’s policy changes requiring their rollout, at great cost to already stretched budgets. Similarly, biking infrastructure, funded with $390 million under Key to promote sustainable transport, is now mocked as wasteful “woke” spending by a coalition desperate to rewrite its own history.
Here's National's Minister of Education, Erica Stanford, stupidly implying that open-plan classrooms were Labour's idea:
"So multiple govt's over multiple years who've been flip-flopping around without any evidence, but the evidence is clear that these classrooms are not optimal."
Not to be outdone, Luxon’s standout moments of mendacity shine through in his rhetoric. In his State of the Nation address, he claimed Labour left a $200 billion “hole” in transport commitments, a figure easily debunked and described by Labour leader Chris Hipkins as “absolute nonsense,” noting it equates to half of New Zealand’s GDP. Labour’s transport plans, funded at $2.68 billion annually through three-year cycles, were sustainable, with tools like value capture in development. National, however, cut rail funding from $1.2 billion in 2023 to $466 million in 2024, undermining projects like the Auckland Strategic Rail Programme, only for Winston Peters to re-announce select rail investments to try and save face.
The Coalition of Chaos, fractured by tensions between National, ACT, and New Zealand First, seems united only in its desperation to obscure Labour’s legacy. By delaying projects, cutting budgets ($200 million from Dunedin Hospital, $150 million from education infrastructure, and $734 million from rail) and re-announcing them as their own, Luxon’s government reveals a stark lack of original vision or planning ability, which they continuously try to obscure by blaming Labour for their own failures.
New Zealanders deserve better than a dishonest government that lies to claim credit while dismantling the foundations laid by the previous Labour led government. If Luxon truly wants to “get New Zealand back on track,” he might start by acknowledging the tracks Labour funded and the cuts his coalition continues to make to our vital infrastructure.