The Government has promised light rail to Auckland Airport for two elections now. In 2017 they promised that light rail to Mt Roskill would be delivered by 2021.
Now it appears, after three years of inaction, that no public body has the skills or wherewithal to even begin the project:
Documents released to RNZ show Cabinet ministers want a public sector entity to oversee the major transport project.
But officials say if that’s the case, expertise within an existing agency will need to be bolstered or an entirely new organisation will need to be established.
Auckland light rail came to a screeching halt at the end of the last parliamentary term because New Zealand First refused to support it.
Two project proposals received by the government from NZ Infra and the New Zealand Transport Agency were taken off the table and light rail was referred to the Ministry of Transport for further work.
A July briefing, released to RNZ under the Official Information Act, set out how the Ministry and Treasury plan to move the project forward, in order to advise the current government.
That advice will enable ministers to determine a course for the project over the next parliamentary term, it said.
The briefing stated that within the first six months of the government’s formation, Cabinet will need to make arrangements for the delivery of the project, “including the nature of any decisions needed to enable the establishment of a delivery entity (or entities) and the roles of the key agencies”.
Ministers will also need to look at funding options and creating a clear timeline on the delivery of the project.
The paper stated Cabinet wants Auckland light rail to be delivered by a public agency, but Ministry of Transport officials stated its view the project’s size and complexity meant no existing agency had the ability.
“The capability and capacity demands of a project of this scale and complexity are almost unprecedented in New Zealand, and no current entity has the necessary capabilities to deliver the project. All options will be considered, including building expertise within an existing entity of establishing a new one,” the briefing stated.
Ministry of Transport and Treasury briefing paper to Cabinet.
The risks of the projects design and construction and who can best manage that risk will need to be considered when deciding who is best placed to deliver light rail, officials said.
“Given the complexity of the project and its significant funding requirements, we anticipate that there will need to be robust governance and assurance to manage Crown risk, including a detailed approach to change management and contingency management,” the paper said.
Transport officials explain how, without further funding, their work to progress the Auckland light rail project was likely to be delayed and their advice to the government will be “heavily scaled back”.
The briefing stated that ministers had previously agreed in principle for the $4.64 million allocated to establish a Green Transport Card in the 2019 budget to be used instead on the Auckland light rail project.
In the July briefing, however, officials said because the project was dead in the water at the end of the last Parliamentary term only $1 million was needed.
It is not clear if the revised funding reallocation was signed off by the former Minister of Transport and Finance Minister.
Radio New Zealand
That is all civil servant speak for describing a ‘bugger’s muddle’.
Once again we find that with with her lying mouth and her shallow promises, the Prime Minister has written cheques that can’t be banked and aren’t worth the paper they are written on.
But it seems that most of New Zealand is more than happy with a big talking, small action Prime Minister.
In the corporate world this would be called a fraud.
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