The new Government and Wellington’s city and regional councils have agreed to put the city’s beleaguered Let’s Get Wellington Moving plan out of its misery - agreeing in principle to dissolve the scheme entirely and move on.
The agreement was reached by Infrastructure and Housing Minister Chris Bishop, Transport Minister Simeon Brown, Mayor of Wellington Tory Whanau and chairman of Greater Wellington Regional Council Daran Ponter.
At the election, National campaigned on pulling out of the scheme, a regional transport deal between central and local government to build several integrated transport projects. Under the deal, the cost of those projects would have split the $7.4 billion cost of 60-40 between councils and central government.
The decision means Wellington will lose out on some form of rapid transit, possibly light rail, which was proposed under the old scheme, but it will gain new car lanes through Mt Victoria - paid for entirely by central government.
Wellington City Council has also won a concession on its Golden Mile redevelopment, which will now stay in some form, despite National saying it would axe it.
The city’s two Green MPs have slammed the decision, noting the city handed the party two electorates at the most recent election.
MP for Rongotai and the party’s transport spokeswoman, Julie Anne Genter, said the Government was “more interested in putting projects through the shredder than it is in developing a vision for the future of our towns and cities”.
Act leader David Seymour applauded the decision to kill the scheme, saying the “left-wing fantasy project was a drain on taxpayers and ratepayers, and would have achieved the exact opposite of what it says on the tin”.
Central government will now build and fund the Basin Reserve upgrade and second Mt Victoria tunnel, which it says will create opportunities for urban development and housing. This was part of National’s election pledge.
NZ Transport Agency, formerly known as Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, said it would “now look to stand up a project team to investigate the delivery of a second Mt Victoria tunnel together with an upgrade to the Basin Reserve”.
It said some of the work for this had already been done as part of its yet-to-be-finished detailed business case on the tunnel for Let’s Get Wellington Moving.
“NZTA will now look to expedite this process to meet the Government’s objectives,” said Robyn Elston, national manager system design.
Wellington City Council will bring a suite of Golden Mile upgrades in-house. National opposed some of these changes, particularly moves to decrease the number of car parks. A statement said the council would work to find cost efficiencies, better bus routes, greater pedestrian access and closer engagement with local businesses.
The parties agree to accelerate the North-South, East-West, and Harbour Quays bus corridors as priority projects. These might have been rapid transit schemes, and the route to the hospital might have been light rail, under Let’s Get Wellington Moving. The details of the precise transport mode had not been decided.
The partners said this would improve access to the airport and hospital.
The three partners also agreed to talk about a city or regional deal for Wellington and the region. The new Government has said it wants to ink city and regional infrastructure deals.
Whanau said “local, regional and central government are in agreement about the way forward for Wellington”.
“It is important to me that we work constructively with the new Government to deliver the infrastructure that Wellington desperately needs. It is good to have a clear sense of direction from the Government and commitment to investing in the infrastructure for our growing population,” she said.
Both parties have swallowed some dead rats, although the councils are arguably the bigger losers for having lost rapid transit - although they have gained central government funding for the tunnel.
Whanau said she did not support the new tunnel being for cars.
Under the old scheme, a new tunnel would have been built, however the lanes it would have added would have been for public transport, with no additional private vehicle traffic under Mt Victoria beyond the two current lanes. The council would also have had to foot 40 per cent of the bill. Under the new scheme, the Government will pay for the total cost.
“I have been clear that I do not support a second Mt Victoria car tunnel. However, the Government has said that this is a priority for them this term and have committed to funding 100 per cent of the costs. I am also glad to have found areas of collaboration where we can look to develop a housing and urban growth precinct with the acquisition of land for this development”, Whanau said.
Bishop said the tunnel was “a key commitment of the new coalition Government”.
“Wellingtonians are sick of all the backwards and forwards on the second Mt Vic tunnel. The plan now is for central government to fully fund the new tunnel. The tunnel will create exciting opportunities for more urban development and housing, and the government will work with Wellington City Council to explore these opportunities,” he said.
Housing is likely to be a contentious topic for National’s new plan, given the now-dead rapid transit corridor was key to the council’s ability to add tens of thousands of new homes in central suburbs.
Councillor Iona Pannett, a longtime opponent of an additional tunnel, told the Herald there was “not enough capacity in the bus network”.
“Light rail would have allowed more housing,” she said.
Pannett said she saw the new option as “climate vandalism” and that it was “disappointing” that the victory Pannett and others on over the Basin Reserve flyover proposal nearly a decade ago had not been utilised to build a “more sustainable transport system”.
“Climate change is visibly here. We have to stop burning oil,’ she said.
Brown, having opposed the Golden Mile project in Opposition, said he had agreed to allow the Wellington City Council to take it in-house.
“With the Golden Mile project, we need to ensure efficiencies are made and that the design meets everyone’s needs such as better bus routes and access for pedestrians,” Brown said.
Ponter said it was important the councils and Government “super-charge bus priority routes on our core transport spines and open up a new public transport spine on the Harbour Quays”.
Ponter said he was looking forward to “having discussions on creating a Regional/City Deal for Wellington city and the wider region”.
Brown said such a deal would “mean having strategic objectives for road, rail, public transport, housing and environmental resilience investments for Wellington that are shared by central, regional and local government, along with long-term funding commitments to enable certainty of planning”.
Genter, who was an associate transport minister when Labour announced Let’s Get Wellington Moving, said she and other Wellingtonians would “organise and push the Government into making the right decisions for the future of the city we love”.
She said there were “remnants” from what National had cast on the scrap heap that could be built upon.
Her fellow Wellington Green MP, Tamatha Paul, who won Wellington Central at the election, said people wanted “a bus that shows up on time, decent pay for bus drivers, and to move around without having to worry about their safety”.
“The last thing our city needs is expensive state highway projects. We know that tunnels and extra lanes do nothing to provide the step change our transport system needs. But we will not give up on the sustainable transport that we all dream for that will allow us to move around confidently and safely,” she said.
Seymour said the project, had it survived, would have “made Wellington a place where people are unable to have the flexibility to drive up to a shop, pick something up, grab the kids from school, head to sports practice and somehow Labour thought this would entice people to the city. You can’t bully people into changing their entire lifestyle for the sake of a left-wing fantasy. People will just leave”.
He said he was disappointed the Wellington City Council had decided to keep the Golden Mile improvements project.
Thomas Coughlan is Deputy Political Editor and covers politics from Parliament. He has worked for the Herald since 2021 and has worked in the press gallery since 2018.
Bill comes amid Govt refusing to agree to settlements that dispute Crown sovereignty.