Transport Minister speaks after scathing letter from Let’s Get Wellington Moving

The Transportation Minister says he deliberately chose not to skimp on his words in a scathing letter about Wellington state’s $ 6.4 billion transportation plan.

Michael Wood sent a letter to the heads of Let’s Get Wellington Moving (LGWM) after an internal review revealed that the project aimed at addressing the city’s growing congestion is at risk of failure.

He told them that the situation is “unacceptable.”

But Michael Wood is less interested in pointing fingers than in getting the LGWM really moving.

After requiring officials to come up with a plan to resolve weaknesses within fifteen days, Wood also requested that regular progress reports come directly to his desk.

LGWM is a three-way partnership between Wellington City Council, Greater Wellington Regional Council, and Waka Kotahi NZTA.

The plan includes doubling the Mt Victoria tunnel, mass rapid transit from the city to the airport, bus priority, and improved hiking and biking.

An internal review, published publicly last week, found that LGWM has leadership issues, a disruptive culture, is under-resourced, and ultimately runs the risk of non-compliance.

Wood sent a very frank letter to the LGWM Association Board saying the issues are “unacceptable.”

“Wellingtons have been waiting too long for progress to unlock the potential of our capital city,” Wood wrote.

When asked today what message Wood wanted to send in the letter, he said: “I deliberately chose not to beat around the bush in my words.”

“I think the opinions of the people in Wellington are very clear on this, that after quite some time in the digestion, after many consultations, it is time to move on to the delivery of the projects necessary to give the people in Wellington options of actual transportation.. “

He found the message well received and confirmed that he has spoken with both Greater Wellington Regional Council President Daran Ponter and Mayor Andy Foster.

Wood has given the Board two weeks to come up with a plan to work things out, including recruiting staff, a strategic communications plan, and improving team culture and cohesion.

He said he would need to see a meaningful and specific response to the weaknesses identified in the review to give him confidence that the project was under control.

The main concern in the review was the lack of cohesion, Wood said.

“People still see themselves working for one of the three entities, I think if we fix it, that will go a long way toward solving some of the other problems.

“We need to make sure this is a very cohesive project where people are working together and not isolated in their separate agencies.”

Wood also wanted to see a clear plan from officials on the implementation of “easy-to-get projects”: projects on walking, biking, and public transportation.

After the impending meeting, Wood said he would launch “very regular” reports right on his desk to find out exactly what is going on.

When asked if the LGWM program director should resign because of the situation, the minister said that any employment issue was the responsibility of the government entity and not his.

“Everybody has to take responsibility for the fact that we haven’t had the delivery that we want. I’m mainly focused on how we get things moving now instead of pointing fingers.”

In September last year, LGWM program director Andrew Body confirmed that the project was undergoing an internal review.

Conducted by three independent reviewers, focused on governance, a gap assessment, people and culture, the referral program, and systems and processes.

The review was considered a standard process for a project the size of LGWM.