95bFM New Zealand’s Infrastructure Problem is Exacerbated by Climate Change
8 May, 2026
Interview by Caeden Tipler, adapted by Gabriel Timpson-Neill
The University of Auckland’s Theuns Henning says that New Zealand has to face its issues of aging infrastructure and increased natural disasters from climate change, and figure out solutions via new technology and constructive discussions between communities.
New Zealand’s infrastructure is failing to keep up with climate change, with many vital road and public transport networks being disrupted by increased rates of flooding and other natural hazards. Storms, in particular, have become a more frequent occurrence across the nation and are leading to increased government spending on responses to their effects.
New Zealand spends 0.6% of its annual GDP on disaster management, twice the average of any other nation in the OECD. 97% of that is spent on responding to disasters, and only 3% on preventing or minimizing damage.
As over 750,000 New Zealanders live in areas prone to floods or storms, many local councils are calling for the government to do more to combat the damage posed by natural disasters to infrastructure before they occur, rather than afterwards.
Professor Theuns Henning, a professor in the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Engineering, told 95bFM’s The Wire that right now, the government doesn’t have enough money to look after infrastructure as it is, without even factoring in the monetary loss from natural hazards.
He says that New Zealand’s current infrastructure is already having to make changes to adapt to a growing population and changing demands, while remaining usable for the vast majority of people. New Zealand’s infrastructure is already aging, thereby rendering it more vulnerable to natural disasters and difficult to maintain.
Dr. Henning says that a key challenge for local or national governments is deciding what little budget they have should be spent on, with infrastructure maintenance and development only one of many major considerations. He says that despite this, New Zealand is doing a good job in risk assessment and understanding dangers posed by natural disasters, though responding to these dangers can be difficult due to a lack of decision making by the central government.
He says that, out of the potential choices for managing infrastructure in the face of climate change, one choice that can be made is transferring the risk to insurance, rather than having the government handle the risk or improving the infrastructure itself.
Dr. Henning says that the development of new technology, such as more resilient construction materials, improved designs, and AI could bring huge opportunities to the technical community. He says that while there are definitely risks to using AI, a strong and sensible partnership between it and human understanding of engineering could be beneficial.
Dr. Henning says that, most of all, it is important to have constructive debates in the political sphere to encourage creative solutions to New Zealand’s infrastructure problem. While AI can be a helpful tool to present solutions to infrastructure issues, out-of-the-box and innovative thinking to solve issues comes solely from the human mind.
Making the best decisions for our communities, he says, must come from dialogue between political parties and informed citizens who understand the risks posed by climate change.
