National’s transport spokesperson, Simeon Brown, has called the Government’s Auckland light rail project a “light fail”, saying Labour needs to shift its transport priorities.
Speaking on Breakfast’s political panel this morning, alongside Labour MP Arena Williams, Brown called the project a failure - saying the money would be better spent on repairing roads in the regions.
“This government said when they were elected in 2017 said they were going to deliver Auckland light rail in 2021; it's now 2023,” he said.
“What we need in our regions is a roading network rebuild.”
He said the money that’s being spent on the project should be used to help regions like Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne recover from road damage caused by Cyclone Gabrielle.
“How’s Auckland light rail good for Hawke’s Bay?” he said.
“The reality is, this is a 30 billion dollar investment which should be going into our regions.
“What we’re saying is, let's fix our roads, let's get our regions reconnected; they’ve been destroyed, bridges have been destroyed and the minister of transport today is gonna be going and doing some soil testing.”
He said the entire project was a “light fail”.
Labour’s Arena Williams fired back at Brown’s points, saying light rail was a long-term project that would future-proof Aotearoa’s largest city.
“This is a multi-generational in Auckland’s future. It’s good for Auckland but also for the rest of the country,” she said.
“We need that kind of long-term thinking at a time like this when people are talking about how we continue to reduce our climate emissions and adapt to our changing climate.
“We need an Auckland city which is future-proofed in which people can get around safely.”
Williams said there was no reason why the Government couldn’t focus on multiple transport projects at once, saying they are investing in Kiwis' needs across the country.
“These two things aren’t competing with each other, and the Government needs to be able to do transport projects a the same time around the country.
“It’s useful to have that kind of timeframe when we're thinking about the infrastructure needs of our biggest city.
“The Government is investing in infrastructure in the regions.”
Work on the train line, stretching from the CBD to the airport, begins today. However, its future is still up in the air.
The Government has scrapped a number of “non-essential” projects so they can refocus their priorities.
Transport Minister Micheal Wood said no decisions have been made regarding light rail yet.
"No decisions have been made on light rail; all of the Government's policies are currently being considered for reprioritisation as we focus on the issues that matter most to Kiwis,” he told 1News earlier this month.
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