Don't ask, don't get: Canterbury left off the Budget menu

Thursday, 4 June 2026

Finance Minister Nicola Willis has credited Christchurch’s post-earthquake rebuild with helping power Canterbury’s economy, but says the region must now be specific about what infrastructure it wants next.

Speaking to nearly 200 business leaders at a Business Canterbury event on Wednesday, Willis said public infrastructure investment in Christchurch had helped create “a sense of buzz and energy”.

She pointed to Te Kaha, Te Pae Convention Centre, Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre, and the justice precinct as examples of post-earthquake investment that had helped revive the central city.

She said public infrastructure had been “a magnet” for private investment in housing, hospitality, retail and business activity.

But asked later whether she could name a specific major infrastructure project announced in the Budget for Canterbury, Willis pointed instead to investment in schools, health equipment and local roading.

Pressed on whether there was “no one big major headline project”, Willis said she had not been asked.

“I haven’t had a request for a major headline project in Canterbury,” she said.

The Government’s $400m national road resilience fund announced in the Budget includes several South Island routes, but no Canterbury projects. The wider $7b infrastructure package also did not identify a major Canterbury-specific project.

Willis pitched the Budget as one of restraint rather than largesse, arguing the Government needed to restore financial discipline before the next global shock arrived.

Her prediction that New Zealand would return to surplus in 2029 prompted a burst of applause from the crowd.

When asked how Canterbury could move from being a case study for growth to securing the infrastructure needed for the next phase, Willis said the region needed to be clear about its priorities.

“I think be really specific about which are the projects that as a region you want to get behind that you believe will be growth-enhancing,” she said.

“The way that makes any advocacy for infrastructure most powerful is if an entire region comes behind a project and says this is what we need.”

The comments echoed a message Prime Minister Christopher Luxon delivered to Canterbury leaders last year, when he urged the region to present a more unified view of its priorities.

“When you rock up to Canterbury and you get 17 different views, it’s really unhelpful,” Luxon said at the time. “The sooner you bowl us one view of the region, the easier it is to partner.”

The biggest infrastructure project currently being discussed in Canterbury is the proposed $800m expansion of Lyttelton Port, but the Government has already signalled it will not contribute funding, with Luxon ruling out support.

Earlier this year, Business Canterbury released its “Canterbury Ambition” work, which argues the region needs to invest ahead of demand. However, it did not list specific projects.

A report from industry group Infrastructure New Zealand and law firm Simpson Grierson argues that bridges and culverts should be treated as Canterbury’s “critical priority”.

One Budget policy Willis said would benefit Canterbury was the Incentives for Growth Fund, which will reward councils that consent more houses.

Infometrics estimated Christchurch would receive about $10.8m, with Selwyn, Waimakariri and Queenstown Lakes also among the eight councils nationally expected to get more than $1m.

“The simple idea [is] that councils who are consenting more for growth should see some financial upside from that growth,” she said.

But Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen said the fund would provide only limited additional money for most councils, and would be much smaller than a proposal to share GST from new builds with local councils.