UK experience shows New Zealand Infrastructure Investment Summit needs more strategy and less secrecy

The Infrastructure Investment Summit, led by Chris Bishop (left) and Christopher Luxon, is nearly upon us. (Image: NZME)

Dileepa Fonseka

Mon, 03 Mar 2025

Like an episode of Coronation Street, the Investment Summit craze from Britain has arrived, but it’s a bit later for us. Britain has held three such events, under Boris Johnson in 2021, Rishi Sunak in 2023 and Keir Starmer in 2024. Interestingly, none of these summits proved to be electoral boons for those Prime Ministers.Johnson was out of office in 2022, Sunak in 2024, and as for Starmer, well, a YouGov poll currently puts the Labour Party one point behind Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. However, correlation is not causat...

Subscribe to BusinessDesk

Stay informed on business, government and financial developments across New Zealand.

Deeply researched, twice-edited and fact-checked news
Annual subscribers also receive a complimentary subscription to The Wall Street Journal
Personalised email news alerts, plus gift up to 5 stories a month to non-subscribers

You can cancel anytime with two clicks, an email or a phone call.
Find out more.

We are serious about journalism.

Already a Subscriber ? Sign in here.

Name {{ registerForm.errors.get('name') }}

Email address {{ registerForm.errors.get('email') }}

Phone Number {{ registerForm.errors.get('phone') }}

Job Title {{ registerForm.errors.get('title') }}

Password Minimum password length of 8 characters.
Require at least one upper and lowercase, numeric, and special character. {{ registerForm.errors.get('password') }}

Repeat password {{ registerForm.errors.get('password_confirmation') }}

We had trouble validating your card. It's possible your card provider is preventing us from charging the card. Please contact your card provider or customer support.

Credit Card

Cardholder's name

{{ __(plans[index].name) | capitalize }} {{ plans[index].attributes.old_price | currency }} {{ plans[index].price | currency }}

All subscriptions auto renew but are easy to cancel.

I Accept The Terms Of Service

{{ registerForm.errors.get('terms') }}

Tax: {{ taxAmount(selectedPlan) | currency }}

Total Price Including Tax: {{ priceWithTax(selectedPlan) | currency }} {{ selectedPlan.type == 'user' && spark.chargesUsersPerSeat ? '/ '+ spark.seatName : '' }} {{ selectedPlan.type == 'user' && spark.chargesUsersPerTeam ? '/ '+ __('teams.team') : '' }} / {{ __(selectedPlan.interval) | capitalize }}