Covid-19 prompts talk of bringing back Ministry of Works, which was scrapped in the 1980s

There's a lot of concern at the moment about big job losses, but could the answer lie in lessons from the past?

For most of its modern history, New Zealand had a Ministry of Works which provided people with jobs and built our nation's infrastructure.

It was largely shut down in the late '80s but now there's talk of bringing it back.

The Ministry was responsible for the construction of wharves, power grids, dams, motorways, state highways, and even New Zealand’s first, and only, homemade tank.

“For most people, it would have been unthinkable that New Zealand wouldn't have a Ministry of Works,” Wellington City Libraries historian Gabor Toth said.

“We would be a completely different country had they not done the work that they had.”

The Ministry of Works was also responsible for Wellington's Mt Victoria Tunnel, allowing people to get to suburbs located on the other side of the hill, as well as the airport.

“These are things that we use every day, whether they be the motorways that we drive on or simply flicking a switch on in our house and the light turns on, the whole electricity network that our country is utterly dependent on.”

Infrastructure investor Wayne Brown said some of the country's greatest projects, such as the construction of the main trunk railway and hydroelectric dams, was due to the need for change during the Depression.

“Something happened to make them able to do these things, well, we've got that right now,” Mr Brown explained.

He says there is a lot of infrastructure in need of an upgrade, including the rail and bridges supporting the weight of trucks across the country.

However, the Ministry was ditched by a Labour-led Government in the 80s.

"Efficiency was the goal. There was a belief that we were spending far too much money, that we were living beyond our means," Mr Toth explained.

"There was probably a bit of fat that had to be cut out but when you look at what they achieved, and the quality of what they achieved, and these are projects that are results of which we continue to benefit greatly from to this day."

However, if the Ministry is brought back, there are concerns problems may arise.

"I think it's a great idea but I worry about the people," Mr Brown said. "We've fallen in love with CEOs who don't have any skin in the game."

"Should something reemerge, I think it will be a much leaner and meaner machine than what we ever had in the past," Mr Toth added.