Election 2023: Business as usual for Let’s Get Wellington Moving as axe looms

National’s infrastructure spokesman Chris Bishop says Let's Get Wellington Moving was set up with good intentions but it has not delivered for Wellingtonians. Photo / Mark Mitchell

National has confirmed that Let’s Get Wellington Moving (LGWM) is dead but it’s business as usual for the time being, while the party gets on with forming a government.

The $7.4 billion transport plan was a key issue in the capital on the campaign trail.

National pledged to withdraw from the plan, including killing light rail from the central city to the southern suburbs.

The party will instead start building the second Mt Victoria tunnel in its first term as a fully-funded state highway project, freeing up money for councils to spend on other transport needs, like improving the bus network.

LGWM is a three-way partnership between the Wellington City Council, the Greater Wellington Regional Council, and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.

National’s infrastructure spokesman Chris Bishop said LGWM was set up with good intentions but it has not delivered for Wellingtonians.

Asked what LGWM staff should be doing right now, Bishop said it’s early days and National still has a way to go before forming a government.

“So it’s business as usual for now but in due course, the Government will be formed and we will make our intentions clear when it comes to transport in Wellington.

“But we’ve been very clear and upfront throughout the election campaign about what our priorities are.”

Newly-elected Green MPs for Wellington Central and Rongotai, Tamatha Paul and Julie Anne Genter, appear to think National might come around to light rail.

Bishop is happy to sit down with both of them in due course, along with Green-endorsed Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau, but he said light rail is not part of the plan for Wellington.

“Frankly, given the council’s current budgetary position, I’m staggered the Greens in Wellington consider light rail to be a priority as well... given the council has never been able to figure out how they will pay for their share of light rail.”

Genter feels the election result in Wellington is a mandate for Green transport solutions.

But Bishop said National has also improved its party vote in the region.

“We ran a strong election campaign and we consider ourselves to have a mandate to enact our policies and we will get on and do that in due course.”

During the campaign, it emerged the major contract for work to remove cars from Wellington’s Golden Mile remained unsigned.

National’s transport spokesman Simeon Brown said at the time it would be inappropriate to sign the contract this close to the election, “given the National Party has signalled our intention to pull out of LGWM and to rewrite transport funding settings soon after the election”.

The party has also promised to build the Petone to Grenada Link Road and the Cross Valley Link.

Bishop said they will continue the funding provided by the previous Government across the lower North Island for metro train upgrades.

Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.