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The government’s flagship infrastructure project has been “put on hold” as it fights the Covid-19 pandemic, but there is some doubt that it will ever work again.
Transport Minister Phil Twyford said decisions on the Auckland light rail project “are on hold, while the government’s full focus is to fight Covid-19.”
During the election campaign, Labor promised to have the first stage of the Auckland light rail scheme built by 2021.
But after a long and protracted process, the government has yet to decide who will build the scheme, let alone begin construction.
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Currently, the government is about to decide who wants to build the scheme. The two bidders are NZTA, the government infrastructure builder, and NZ Infra, a group made up of the NZ Super Fund and CDPQ Infra, a Canadian pension fund.
After an analysis of the two offers by the Transport Ministry, which ended in February, the decision was presented to the ministers.
Twyford’s office was unable to clarify when a decision will be made on who will build the project, as New Zealand is expected to be struggling with the economic effects of Covid-19 for some time.
He said the government was still committed to light rail.
While Labor and the Greens are keen supporters of light rail, NZ First coalition partners are skeptical.
Things
Transportation Minister Phil Twyford said light rail decisions were “on hold” during the Covid-19 pandemic.
New Zealand’s associate transport minister and first MP, Shane Jones, previously said party members were “doubting Thomases” when it came to the “kaupapa light rail”.
Jones has also pointed out that the commitment to start working on the rail line was included in the Trust and Supply agreement between Labor and the Greens, not in the coalition agreement between NZ First and Labor.
The two agreements include a clause that says the agreements must be consistent with each other.
National transport spokesman Chris Bishop said the scheme was now highly unlikely to progress before the election.
He said it would be a “millstone around the neck” of the government during the next campaign.
The decision could raise questions about the purdah period before the 2020 elections.
This is a convention whereby no major decisions, especially those involving large sums of money, are made in the run-up to an election, as there may soon be a change of government.
This is stated in various sections of the cabinet manual.
Observing the purdah rules could mean that a decision on light rail should be made imminently.
