What is deferred maintenance, and why is it putting New Zealand's infrastructure at a breaking point?
Deferred maintenance is the repeated postponement of scheduled upkeep, driven largely by short political cycles — in New Zealand's case, a three-year election cycle in which governments systematically delay infrastructure spending to avoid costs in their current term. Because much of New Zealand's infrastructure was built during the post-World War II boom of the 1950s and 1960s — with a planned life cycle of around 50 years — it has now reached the end of its designed lifespan without being adequately maintained or replaced. The result is a nation facing simultaneous, widespread infrastructure deterioration, with future generations left to bear the disproportionate financial burden.
The compounding effect of decades of under-investment is not a theoretical risk — it is already visible in the fabric of everyday infrastructure. When a road or bridge fails, the consequences reach far beyond inconvenience: communities are cut off, supply chains break down, and economic activity stalls. New Zealand's Infrastructure Commission, Te Wahananga, has documented the funding imbalance clearly: for every dollar spent on infrastructure, 60 cents should go to maintenance and renewals, leaving just 40 cents for new builds. In practice, that ratio is routinely inverted in favour of visible new construction, which carries greater political appeal.
The health sector illustrates the gap starkly. Annual maintenance spending in New Zealand's health infrastructure sits well below 2% of asset value, against an international benchmark closer to 5%. Meanwhile, the 2025 National Infrastructure Plan revealed that 12 out of 31 central government agencies do not even hold a basic asset register — making informed decisions about maintenance almost impossible. Hear the full conversation on Listenly for Murray Pugh's detailed account of how these systemic failures interact.
Deferred maintenance refers to the practice of repeatedly postponing scheduled maintenance on infrastructure assets — roads, water pipes, buildings, bridges — beyond the point at which it was originally planned. Each deferral compounds the long-term cost and accelerates physical deterioration, ultimately concentrating the repair burden on future decision-makers and the communities they serve.
"Unless we invest now, and maybe forego something else, then our children and our grandchildren are going to shoulder a very highly disproportional impact from failing infrastructure."
— Murray Pugh, CEO, ApopoAbout Murray Pugh
Murray Pugh is the CEO of Apopo, the lead professional association for Aotearoa New Zealand's infrastructure asset management community. He leads an organisation of 1,300 members drawn from across local government, central government, and the private sector — the practitioners who are directly accountable for ensuring that roads, water networks, buildings, and public assets deliver the services communities depend on.
Under Pugh's leadership, Apopo has driven a significant push toward professionalisation and formal accreditation in a field that has historically operated without standardised credentials. The centrepiece of this effort is the Asset Management Chartered Professional designation — a qualification that Apopo developed and that the World Partners in Asset Management has since recognised as equivalent to its own global certification scheme, placing New Zealand practitioners on an internationally comparable footing.
It is this institutional vantage point — overseeing a membership that spans 55% local government practitioners yet only around 7% from central government — that gives Pugh a uniquely authoritative perspective on where New Zealand's asset management culture is failing, and what the consequences of continued deferral will be for infrastructure built half a century ago.
See also
Apopo has established a designation called Asset Management Chartered Professional, designed to carry equivalent standing to that of a chartered professional in other disciplines. It has been recognised by the World Partners in Asset Management as equivalent to their global certification scheme.
New Zealand's Infrastructure Commission, Te Wahananga, has published reports stating that for every dollar spent on infrastructure, 60 cents needs to go toward maintenance and renewals, leaving only 40 cents available for new construction.
Only around 7% of Apopo's 1,300 members come from central government asset owners, compared to 55% from local government, indicating that central government is significantly underrepresented in the asset management profession in New Zealand.