Former Transport Minister Michael Wood ignored official advice not to toll Auckland’s Penlink road

Former Transport Minister Michael Wood ignored official advice to not toll the new O Mahurangi Penlink road north of Auckland and went ahead with charges for motorists, official documents show.

Wood, who quit as a Cabinet minister last week over further shareholdings that clashed with his portfolios, used his power to set tolls for Penlink against the advice of the Ministry of Transport.

He also dismissed public consultation showing 60 per cent of people were opposed to tolls and just 20 per cent in favour. A further 17 per cent supported lower tolls.

A local councillor says the newly revealed documents cast doubt over the legitimacy of the process to toll Penlink. National says it will reconsider the tolling decision should it win the election.

In May this year, Wood announced the new $830 million Penlink road connecting Whangaparāoa Peninsula with SH1 would be tolled with a $3 charge during peak hours and a $2 charge at other times. Heavy vehicles will pay double these rates.

The proposed Penlink highway between Whangaparāoa Peninsula and Northern Motorway.

The toll is to pay for maintenance and tolling infrastructure costs.

Work on the 7km two-lane highway started last December and is expected to be completed in 2026. The road has been designed to improve access to the peninsula and relieve congestion at Silverdale to support housing developments popping up around Orewa.

Last year, the MoT told Wood that the evidence to support tolling was weak, according to papers released under the Official Information Act.

MoT officials said the evidence in Waka Kotahi’s tolling scheme and business case “suggests that society would be worse off if Penlink were tolled”.

The officials came to this conclusion because the effects of diverting traffic on the existing road to Silverdale, resulting from tolling, would reduce benefits elsewhere, including reduced road safety and higher emissions.

“We consider that the Tolling Business Case has not demonstrated that the statutory tests have been met. While you have a broad discretion on tolling decisions, the Business Case suggests that tolling Penlink is not in the public interest,” they said.

The MoT recommended Penlink not be tolled and under the heading “Tolling Penlink could be controversial” told Wood, “We think it is important that your ultimate decision can withstand public scrutiny, including potential legal challenge”.

Waka Kotahi both proposed and supported tolling Penlink to pay for maintenance and tolling infrastructure costs, citing pressure on the National Land Transport Fund. Modelling shows it could collect about $12m a year.

Wood, who is taking “some personal time” before returning to work as an MP after resigning as a minister, could not be reached for comment on why he rejected the advice of the MoT.

The paper that went to the Cabinet Economic Development committee in March this year for a decision said the minister was satisfied the four statutory tests had been met and “the revenue benefits of tolling Penlink, combined with the emission and mode shifts reported by Waka Kotahi, outweigh the welfare costs”.

When announcing the toll in May, Wood said the road would mostly serve specific communities so the fairest option was for drivers who used it to contribute to its ongoing maintenance.

“Based on community feedback we reduced the tolls for peak trips by 25 per cent to help address concerns that the toll rates were too high. We also removed a third proposed toll point at the Stillwater interchange to improve the efficiency of the tolling scheme,” he said.

Former Transport Minister Michael Wood at the sod-turning ceremony for Penlink in December last year. Photo / Waka Kotahi

Albany councillor John Watson said the documents were damning and cast doubt over the legitimacy of the process to toll Penlink.

“The information provided by the Ministry of Transport presents an overwhelming case for rejecting the proposal to toll. Ministry officials couldn’t have been blunter.

“I literally can’t understand how, after reading this advice, Michael Wood persisted with a recommendation to toll … it fails [statutory criteria] and just doesn’t come close to stacking up,” he said.

Watson was “absolutely sure” if locals knew about the impacts a tolled road would have on congestion at Silverdale during consultation then opposition to a toll would have been a lot higher than 60 per cent.

Opposition transport spokesman Simeon Brown said the MoT’s advice that tolling Penlink would significantly decrease the benefits of the project raised questions about the way this decision was made.

Albany councillor John Watson. Photo / Nick Reed

“This comes on top of Labour’s decision to reduce the scope of Penlink from a four-lane highway to only two lanes, reducing the benefits even further,” Brown said.

“National will reconsider the decision to toll Penlink given this evidence, if possible.”

Automobile Association policy director Martin Glynn said the motoring group opposed tolling Penlink to pay for maintenance costs because it was at odds with the principle that road maintenance costs were funded by petrol taxes and road user charges, and the precedent it could set for other new highways.

“We don’t think it’s fair to single out Whangaparāoa motorists to pay twice for the costs of maintaining the road,” he said.

Glynn was disappointed to see that MoT’s advice that tolling Penlink would materially reduce safety benefits and increase vehicle operating costs as a result of taking longer trips on less safe roads to avoid the toll.

A spokesman for Transport Minister David Parker said the minister had no plans to review the tolling decision.

This story has been updated to clarify the number of statutory tests which officials said the tolling business case failed to meet and whether or not the revenue from the tolls would exceed the cost of its collection.

Bernard Orsman is an Auckland-based reporter who has been covering local government and transport since 1998. He joined the Herald in 1990 and worked in the parliamentary press gallery for six years.