Anyone who listened to my maiden speech in Parliament will have recognised three recurring themes: when our government spends money there has to be a return on that investment; the challenges facing our country need fresh ideas; and I’ve got no patience for dragging our feet on important issues.

In this column I’m going to tackle all three.

The government stimulus packages to combat the economic impact of Covid have undoubtedly saved jobs but they can’t be viewed as the total answer. This has been a huge investment that the government has made in simply holding the line. There has to be a plan to make bold moves on upgrading infrastructure, because that’s the investment that pays dividends right across our society.

Without new roads, tunnels and bridges commerce can’t get moving, which is an issue not just for Aucklanders struggling with a single harbour crossing but a handbrake on the entire country. The regions will continue to languish and our tourism industry will fail to fully capitalise on everything New Zealand has to offer if the infrastructure isn’t there to support growth.

Desperately needed, water and wastewater upgrades will not only make our communities safer but also spur house building. It’s not widely understood that land for building isn’t the real problem; developers will tell you that you can’t build where the water and wastewater infrastructure is inadequate or non-existent.

Infrastructure investment delivers jobs, economic growth and improved standards of living for all New Zealanders. This is the major challenge facing our country but it’s also our biggest opportunity.

My second theme is a call out to all industry bodies (government included) to support our innovators. In world terms our population is small, so let’s deal with that reality and bring smarter thinking to the task of driving our economy. We need ‘dark factories’ that continue working all night once the day shift has gone home; our tech entrepreneurs need supporting so they can provide high-value employment opportunities; farms need the funding to capitalise on leading-edge thinking; and alongside very worthwhile schemes for apprentice builders, we also desperately need solid support for our research institutes.

In North Shore Hospital there’s a robot for knee surgery. Since the first day it was plugged in its notched up a 99% success rate; training a surgeon to achieve the same takes 20 years.

Finally, I want to ask what this government is doing with the biggest majority a Labour government has had for decades? Getting through Covid is our rebound opportunity to create a legacy leap forward for the team of five million. But where’s the plan? We keep on telling the world that we’re closed for business, when we should be shining the spotlight on a land that fortitude and a team spirit has made exceptional in this a post-Covid world.