Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones says despite the lack of funds in the Government's coffers, schools, hospitals and prisons will remain off-limits to private investors.
He's happy for them to help pay for the construction, but the ownership will remain in public hands.
"The private sector will help deliver the creation and the construction, but in terms of equity, no - that remains core ownership Crown assets," the NZ First MP told Newshub Nation on Saturday.
"On the question of schools, I know there is a case for greater innovation in the provision of education. My kids went to a kura kaupapa, I've got lots of relations in a wānanga. Those are innovations, but I have to tell the truth - there will be no private infrastructure deals on schools, prisons and hospitals. But everything else, we don't have enough capital within the Crown coffers. I'm open for all sorts of deals."
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Mr Jones is setting up a new agency to help fix what he's calling the country's "infrastructure deficit" - even if it means giving up some control.
"The essential compromise, is how much political authority do I give up as a decision maker in order to create credibility in the industry, domestically and internationally?
"If I can buy, through an agency on behalf of Government, greater credibility, more certainty, more confidence, then I've got no qualms whatsoever about heading in this direction."
He doesn't believe getting some kind of cross-party, long-term support for the new agency will be difficult. National proposed a similar agency when they led the Government.
"They had nine years to put this in place," said Mr Jones. "All they delivered was a glossy 80-page report full of pictures about cranes and ports. This is something the industry has been barracking for, for over 10 years."
He did give credit to Steven Joyce however for the successful ultra-fast broadband rollout.
Despite the long-term view, he wants the agency up-and-running well ahead of the estimated late-2019 start - hoping for some funds in the next Budget announcement.
"The next election is 2020 and I want to get the thing up and running."
Helping that will be starting small. Mr Jones says it'll only cost about $5 million to get going.
"I'd prefer a slim organisation that earns the right to grow, rather than start with something that's too fat to start with. But I'm not happy with the notion that we're going to have to wait until the end of next year."
He says if people aren't happy with the Government not allowing private organisations to run schools, prisons and hospitals, they can vote him out in 2020.
"One never loses sight of that 5 percent [MMP threshold], or then you become a has-been."
Newshub Nation.
