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LGWM - a lot of staff but not much progress
“Lets Get Wellington Moving (LGWM) has spent $84m and increased its staffing levels by 50 per cent in the past year, but all they’ve managed to deliver is one pedestrian crossing,” says ACT’s Transport spokesperson Simon Court.
“Written Parliamentary Questions released to ACT show that the programme employed 27.8 FTEs in January 2022, increasing in one year to 41.8. The total amount spent by the programme is $84 million. There’s a lot of resource going in and not a lot coming out to make Wellingtonians move any faster, the only material thing they delivered is a pedestrian crossing that no one wanted.
“The Government has to focus immediately on what matters and urgently reprioritise so unnecessary spending is cut. LGWM just doesn’t stack up, it is a white elephant that is sucking up employees in a labour crisis and taxpayers’ money in a cost of living crisis.
“The final cost of the programme is expected to reach $6.4 billion. Ministerial briefing notes show that the priorities of the programme are weighted towards lowering emissions and “reducing reliance on private vehicles,” rather than providing reliable and efficient transport options.
“In the meantime the people who are trying to get their kids from hockey to the doctor, while picking something up from the dairy on the way home find life becoming increasingly difficult as parking disappears and roads degrade.
“The Government’s sole focus for the roading network should be getting people from A to B as safely and efficiently as possible. That’s what ACT stands for.
“ACT would take the politics out of transport and infrastructure and get central and local government working together through 30-year infrastructure partnerships, devolving revenue and responsibility to regional governments and the private sector, while strengthening accountability and oversight from central government.
“By setting plans decades in advance, we can avoid the on-again, off-again uncertainty created by the political cycle which deters councils and private infrastructure investors from undertaking ambitious projects.”
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