Webinar: Renovating The Nation: How Asset Recycling Can Help Solve the Infrastructure Deficit 

New Zealand faces a chronic infrastructure shortage. Our roads are congested, water systems are failing, and hospitals cannot keep pace with demand. Yet the Crown sits on a $598 billion balance sheet, including billions tied up in commercial enterprises it does not need to own—electricity companies, a bank, farms, postal services, and a television network.

Is it time to recycle the "family silver" to fund the infrastructure New Zealand urgently needs?

Join us for a webinar to launch our new report, Renovating the Nation. We will discuss how New Zealand can adapt the successful New South Wales model to unlock approximately $24 billion in capital for a dedicated National Infrastructure Fund.

Roger Partridge, the author of the report, will outline a practical roadmap for implementation. He proposes a disciplined, ring-fenced programme that ensures every dollar realised from asset sales is dedicated to additional infrastructure that New Zealanders can see and use.

Roger will be joined by:

• Fraser Whineray, who will provide a perspective from the front lines of the Mixed Ownership Model.
• Fran O’Sullivan, who will examine the political hurdles and the necessity of building public confidence in ownership reform.

Date: Monday, 2 March 2026
Time: 2:30pm
Registration: Please register for the webinar via this link
Q&A: Submit your question in advance on Slido.com using code #24951166

About the speakers: 

Fran O'Sullivan, Managing Director, NZ INC
Fran O’Sullivan is Managing Director of NZ INC. She is a former editor of the National Business Review and a prominent columnist for the New Zealand Herald, where she writes on business, politics, and international affairs, and manages the annual high-profile Mood of the Boardroom project. Fran took up the position of Editorial Director – Business for NZME in April 2015.

Fraser Whineray, Non-Executive Director, Port of Tauranga 
Fraser Whineray was Fonterra's Chief Operating Officer from 2020 to 2023. He now lends his experience and expertise to several organisations as Non-Executive Director including Port of Tauranga, Waste Management NZ, AgriZeroNZ and Quayside Holdings.  Fraser joined our Co-op from Mercury, a 100% renewable electricity retailer and generator, where he was the Chief Executive from 2014 and held executive roles since joining the company in 2008. In 2019, Fraser Chaired the Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Council and was named the Deloitte Top 200 Chief Executive of the year.

Roger Partridge, Chair and Senior Fellow, The New Zealand Initiative
Roger is the chairman and co-founder of The New Zealand Initiative, is a senior researcher and regular media commentator on public policy and constitutional law. He previously led law firm Bell Gully as executive chairman after 16 years as a commercial litigation partner. Partridge holds advisory roles with the Legal Research Foundation, the New Zealand Law Review, and the University of Auckland Business School.

Dr Oliver Hartwich - Executive Director, The New Zealand Initiative
Oliver is the Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative. Before joining the Initiative, he was a Research Fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney, the Chief Economist at Policy Exchange in London, and an advisor in the UK House of Lords. Oliver holds a Master’s degree in Economics and Business administration and a PhD in Law from Bochum University in Germany.