Two-thirds of the $72 million that has been spent so far on light rail for Auckland has gone to consultants, National’s Transport spokesperson Simeon Brown says.

“More than $47 million of taxpayer money for light rail has gone straight into the pockets of expensive consultants without a spade being close to hitting the dirt.

“At the 2017 election, Labour promised to deliver light rail from Mt Roskill to Auckland CBD by 2021. Five years have passed, and not a single cent has been spent on construction.

“Minister of Transport Michael Wood hasn’t even delivered a final business case in five years and is not expected to produce one until 2024.

“It appears that nobody in Labour cares how much their pet project costs – even though it could be as much as $29.2 billion.

“Despite Labour’s utter inability to get out of the starting blocks, Michael Wood has said that delivering light rail will remain a priority for Labour under Chris Hipkins’ leadership.

“Labour spins their wheels but simply doesn’t get traction in transport.

“A National Government will scrap light rail and deliver transport projects that Kiwis actually need and want.”

WPQ: 44760 (2022) – Light rail spending

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