City councillors come out against transport plan

A group of Wellington City councillors are at loggerheads with their colleagues, after they lodged a notice of motion to declare no confidence in the capital’s $7.4 billion transport overhaul, Let’s Get Wellington Moving.

The notice of motion was lodged with council chief executive Barbara McKerrow yesterday afternoon, with the six signatories – Tim Brown, Diane Calvert, Ray Chung, Sarah Free, Tony Randle and Nicola Young – all independents but coming from both the left and right of the council.

The notice calls on the council to declare no confidence in Let’s Get Wellington Moving (LGWM) and to withdraw from a funding agreement.

It is proposed to be voted on at a council meeting on June 29.

‘‘This loss of confidence includes (but is not limited to) its governance and accountability structure, the scope and scale of the work, ability to deliver on budget, the sequencing of work and its affordability for the three partners,’’ the notice says.

The programme has an indicative funding structure of 60% from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency and 20% each from Wellington’s regional and city councils.

LGWM is a complete rethink of how Wellingtonians get from A to B, with everything from light rail or rapid mass transit through to a second Mt Victoria tunnel, bike lanes and better pedestrian facilities all on the table.

But the budget has soared – most recently to an estimated $7.4 billion. One of the few tangible signs of the programme so far is a pedestrian crossing on Cobham Drive near the airport.

Wellington mayor Tory Whanau said the six councillors were a minority on the 16-person council.

‘‘They have a history of speaking out against LGWM, so this isn’t a surprise to me. But ultimately, the notice of motion will fail.

‘‘While I acknowledge we live in a thriving democracy and councillors are entitled to take this action, I am confident that there’s majority support for LGWM around the council table, as well as in the community at large.’’

Transport Minister Michael Wood said he was unaware of the councillors’ motion, and despite Wellington City Council being a ‘‘strong supporter’’, there would be ‘‘differences of opinion’’.

‘‘The particular dynamics of Wellington City Council are for the council and for the mayor to manage . . . But a big transformational programme like this, you’ll always expect that there’ll be some people who support positive change, and some people who don’t have the vision and the ability to lead the way through.’’

Wood said the Government would continue to fund projects in the LGWM programme, with funding decisions being made on a case-bycase basis.

National’s transport spokesperson Simeon Brown said Wood’s statements were ‘‘unacceptable’’.

‘‘Instead of delivering on the Government’s plans for rapid transit in Wellington, Michael Wood is resorting to attacking these councillors who he should be working with, not against.’’

Calvert, who has long raised concerns about LGWM, said the final straw for her was a confidential briefing with LGWM last Friday that included a significant increase in costs for the Golden Mile improvements, and the fact that the council was being asked to budget $50m towards the programme in its Long Term Plan without knowing the specifics of where the money would go.