A year on from Transport Minister Michael Wood’s furious backpedalling to cancel the $785 million Auckland cycle bridge, no decisions have been made on how the funds will be reallocated, National’s Transport spokesperson Simeon Brown says.

“Kiwis overwhelmingly rejected the Auckland cycle bridge, with a poll revealing that a staggering 82 per cent of respondents believed the Government should not proceed with the project.

“The outcry of opposition caused the Government to cancel the cycle bridge on 2 October 2021.

“Minister Wood said at the time that the Government would reallocate funding to other transport projects like the Eastern Busway, and that ‘East Auckland can’t afford to wait longer for better public transport.’

“Yet this Government is so bad at delivery that Kiwis are still waiting for a decision on the funding reallocation to be delivered one year on.

“The Government has wasted $2.4 million on consultants for the cycle bridge since it was cancelled last October, bringing the total amount wasted to $51 million.

“It’s bad enough the Labour Government has wasted $51 million of hard-earned taxpayer money, but it’s even more disappointing there hasn’t been a final decision on where the rest of the money allocated to the cycle bridge will go.

“Kiwis are sick and tired of the Labour Government treating them like ATMs for their pet projects, and raiding taxpayer money for waste and poor outcomes.”

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