The Labour-led government will spend $42 billion on infrastructure and critical public services over the next five years, $10 billion more than forecast by the previous government, says Finance Minister Grant Robertson.
Transport, health and education look to be priorities in the upcoming Budget.
"The capital investments to be announced on May 17 [Budget Day] will allow us to give a long overdue boost to health to ensure that our hospitals are fit for purpose and can cope with a growing and ageing population.
"We are upgrading our transport network to ensure we have a safe, efficient transport system, and will make the largest investment of our lifetimes into New Zealand’s regions via the $1 billion per year Provincial Growth Fund," Mr Robertson said today.
Mr Robertson said education would also receive a boost "to support our schools to deal with ageing buildings and increasing enrolments".
"A Budget is always a balancing act and we have been responsible by making sure we have created the room to make the critical investments we need to, while maintaining New Zealand's resilience to any future shocks. We are doing this while meeting the Budget Responsibility Rules, meaning we are running a surplus in this Budget and across the economic cycle."
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