The Critical Gaps: Where New Zealand Stands Today
"New Zealand’s infrastructure challenges are considerable," said Mark Thomas, Managing Director at ServiceWorks and Smart Cities Council New Zealand Lead. "The New Zealand Infrastructure Commission estimates we need to double our infrastructure spending, moving from 5.5% to 10% of GDP—an extra $31 billion. This is a significant opportunity for smarter funding models and private financing partnerships."
Matthew Willard, Infrastructure Advisory Lead at Aurecon, emphasised the scale of underinvestment:
"Decades of persistent underinvestment has created a massive backlog. At the same time, we are now responding to rapid population growth, climate change, and rising material costs. Infrastructure is vital to our way of life—this is not something we can afford to delay."
Smart Infrastructure: The Missing Link
Smart infrastructure offers a pathway to do more with less, according to Keri Niven, Digital Practice Lead at Aurecon:
"Before we can leverage smart infrastructure, asset owners need to fully understand what they have—the location, condition, and performance of their assets. Without that foundation, smart technologies and data-driven decision-making can’t deliver their full value."
The lack of digital infrastructure investment was also flagged as a key issue by Mark Thomas:
"Cities across New Zealand still underutilise IoT, AI, and data-driven planning. We see global cities embedding digital twins and predictive analytics into their infrastructure management. New Zealand must accelerate this shift."
The Role of Connectivity and Data
As Matt McLay, IoT Sales Lead at Spark NZ, explained, connectivity is fundamental to enabling smart infrastructure:
"We’re seeing 25% growth in our IoT business, with 2.2 million IoT connections across water meters, electricity meters, and environmental sensors. Combined with 5G, this opens the door to real-time analytics and responsive infrastructure management."
However, New Zealand still struggles to connect and utilise its data effectively.
"We collect vast amounts of data," said Mark Thomas, "but it remains fragmented across agencies. That’s why the Infrastructure Commission is now pushing for a national digital twin framework, which could break down these silos."
Matthew Willard highlighted an example from fiber infrastructure:
"We used to plan fiber replacement based on time—assuming a 30-year lifespan. Today, with remote fiber monitoring and machine learning, we can predict failure points and prioritize replacement based on actual performance, optimising investment and avoiding unnecessary work."
Case Study: Learning from Sydney Water
Cross-border learning is key to accelerating smart infrastructure adoption, noted Keri Niven:
"Sydney Water has done an excellent job digitizing its strategic asset management plans. Those insights—how to structure data, build trust in data quality, and use it to drive investment—are directly applicable to New Zealand."
Policy and Investment Reform: The Enablers We Need
New Zealand’s funding toolkit is expanding, according to Matthew Willard:
"We already have mechanisms like the Infrastructure Funding and Financing Act and user-pay tools. However, we need to go further—our recent work with Infrastructure New Zealand highlights asset recycling as an underutilised funding lever that could unlock substantial capital for reinvestment."
Mark Thomas sees policy leadership as essential:
"We lack a clear national smart infrastructure strategy. The Infrastructure Commission’s first National Infrastructure Plan—due this year—is a step forward, but implementation will be the real test."
He added:
"Regulatory delays, skill shortages, and fragmented governance structures all hold us back. Coordination between central and local government, plus stronger partnerships with industry, will be crucial."
Public-Private Collaboration: A Model for Success
The private sector also has a clear role to play, said Matt McClay:
"At Spark, we’re actively funding innovation pilots through our Accelerate Aotearoa Fund. We’re partnering directly with innovators who are using IoT and 5G to solve real infrastructure challenges. We also offer programs like our AI Mini MBA to build digital capability across the sector."
Pathway Forward: Key Recommendations from the Panel
When asked to nominate one change to accelerate smart infrastructure adoption, the panelists’ responses were clear and actionable:
- Mark Thomas: "Create a national open data platform to unlock innovation. Transparency will drive better solutions."
- Matt McLay: "We need to actively share success stories. Many councils and agencies are doing great work—but nobody hears about it."
- Matthew Willard: "Embed long-term thinking into every infrastructure decision. Plan for the full asset lifecycle, not just upfront costs."
- Keri Niven: "Integrate design for operations into every project—consider how data can optimise performance before construction even starts."
Final Message to Government and Industry Leaders
In their closing remarks, the panelists left a clear message for government and industry leaders:
- Mark Thomas: "Be bolder. Act sooner. The infrastructure challenge is massive—but the technology solutions exist today. We just need the courage to deploy them."
- Matt McLay: "Establish an innovation fund at a national level to de-risk first movers and accelerate adoption."
- Matthew Willard: "We need strong, stable leadership to drive digital innovation across sectors. Set long-term infrastructure goals and stick to them."
- Keri Niven: "Don’t wait for government to solve everything. Asset owners and industry leaders need to take charge—start by understanding your own data and building from there."
New Zealand stands at a crossroads. The infrastructure gap is real, but so is the opportunity to rethink how we plan, fund, and manage infrastructure for future generations. With smart infrastructure at the core—and bold leadership driving collaboration between government, industry, and communities—New Zealand can build a future-ready infrastructure system that is resilient, efficient, and digitally enabled.
Contact us to learn more about how your organisation can play a role in delivering future-ready infrastructure, or apply now to join us.
