“Labour is failing to deliver anything other than inflated budgets and project delays, with only two of its 15 highest cost infrastructure projects delivered on time and on budget,” says ACT’s Transport spokesperson Simon Court.
“Labour is failing to deliver anything other than inflated budgets and project delays, with only two of its 15 highest cost infrastructure projects delivered on time and on budget,” says ACT’s Transport spokesperson Simon Court.
“Documents obtained by ACT show the shoddy delivery to date, and also highlight the dire state of Labour’s $12 billion New Zealand Upgrade programme as well.
“More than half of the ongoing New Zealand Upgrade projects are marked as code red by Waka Kotahi, meaning they’re blowing out their timeframes and failing to keep to budget.
“At the beginning of 2022, four of the 15 announced were measured as being in a red state of health, by the end of April ten of the 18 announced were in the red zone.
“Labour’s inability to deliver a project on time and under budget is a disaster for taxpayers. Inflation is caused by too much money chasing too few goods. When the Government throws around cash like this, it drives up the cost of everything.
“Michael Wood has clearly lost control of the purse strings in his department but refuses to take responsibility. Despite his inability to deliver the projects already underway he persists with announcing grandiose schemes like building a new Mt Vic Tunnel that adds no extra capacity for drivers.
“ACT’s repeal and replacement of the RMA would allow for faster infrastructure development, and we’d 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.
“We need investment in high-quality infrastructure to boost jobs, wages and growth. But the current arrangements for delivering infrastructure are inadequate and politicised.
“Infrastructure, with its very long time horizons, is unsuited to decision-making by politicians beset by three-year tunnel vision. 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.”