Critics want less talk, more moving

Almost two years after Let’s Get Wellington Moving launched, councillors from both the city and regional council will meet on Monday to decide the programme’s priorities.

The meeting could have major implications for how key projects including the Mt Victoria tunnel and Mass Rapid Transit could be implemented but has been criticised by some councillors as a meaningless talk-fest.

The meeting comes two months to the day after a review found the programme was ‘‘at risk of failing to deliver’’, and needed to be paused so major problems including underresourcing, staff shortages, and a lack of leadership could be addressed.

The 15 Wellington City councillors and 13 regional councillors, along with staff from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency will be asked to rank five different objectives for the programme in order of importance.

The overall aim of Let’s Get Wellington Moving is to move more people with fewer vehicles.

Wellington Mayor Andy Foster said the meeting would help decide the future direction of the programme.

It was important to give the LGWM team a reasonable indication as to which outcomes were considered the most significant when it came to weighing up alternative investment packages, he said.

Regional council chairman Daran Ponter expected climate change to be a major focus of the meeting, given both councils had declared climate emergencies since the project was first launched.

The results are unlikely to change what projects are funded as part of the programme, but could influence the options put forward in the business cases for the projects, he said.

‘‘It’s a necessary part of the journey. The technocrats are checking in with the political masters about the direction of the programme,’’ he said.

But other councillors attending the meeting were more sceptical.

‘‘It will be a talk-fest. I’m not very hopeful much will comes from it ... It sounds like Wellington policy wonk speak for kicking the can down the road,’’ Wellington City Councillor Sean Rush said.

Fellow city councillor Rebecca Matthews said there was ‘‘some disquiet’’ within the council about the meeting.

‘‘We feel like the objectives are set. I don’t understand why, in a closed forum, we need to be revisiting them,’’ she said.

‘‘We’re very clear about the focus of Let’s Get Wellington Moving; it’s to move more people with fewer vehicles. If every council puts its stamp on it, we would never get anything done, because it would change every three years.’’

Transport Minister Michael Wood said he was aware of the meeting, but directed further questions to the LGWM team.