Moving beyond the Meola distraction
Last week’s announcement that the Government plans to punt a decision on the next Waitematā Harbour Crossing out beyond the election included an offer – or a barbed hook, depending on your point of view – to Mayor Wayne Brown.
The Mayor remains inexplicably fixated on the notion of building a road bridge from Meola Reef to the North Shore.…
98 Comments A response from the Minister on the Harbour Crossing reset
After the Government’s announcement of a revised approach to planning the next Waitematā Harbour Crossing, we had thoughts – and quite a few questions.
The Minister has provided answers, which we share below. While a lot of it this remains promising, we also have a lot of remaining concerns, and quite a few follow-up questions as well.…
A new approach to the next Waitematā Harbour Crossing?
Yesterday, Minister of Transport Chris Bishop and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced changes to the development of the next Waitematā Harbour Crossing.
They’ve announced that the project is being taken away from the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) – whose board endorsed a tunnel earlier this year after completing an investment case – and will be moved into the Ministry of Cities, Environment, Regions, and Transport (MCERT) under a Senior Responsible Owner (SRO), in order to prepare a Detailed Business Case.…
ART of the metro
At last!
Shine down on us Robbie, we’re actually getting there.
In the same week that two brand new – and already wildly popular – city centre sculptures have been unveiled, and the opening date for our fabulous new underground urban railway was announced, Auckland Transport has also quietly agreed with our artful pitch on naming the top-tier transit services.…
Why an ambitious Auckland climate plan was left at the altar
This is a guest post by Ross Inglis, a co-presenter of the podcast This Climate Business. It first appeared on Bike Auckland’s website and is shared here by kind permission.
If you’ve ever wondered why a yawning chasm lies between New Zealand’s climate ambitions and what we actually do about them, here’s a sobering example that helps explain it.…
The opportunity cost of expressway obsessions
A version of this piece appeared as an op-ed in The Sunday Star-Times on 2 August 2026, and in The Post online. It has been lightly updated to reflect events. (See also last Monday’s post: What will Warkworth to Te Hana cost us?…
We have a date! CRL opens 13 September
In exciting news, at last we have the date confirmed for the launch of the City Rail Link:
Sunday 13th September 2026
Whoop whoop! Here’s the Government media release. The official announcement was planned for 9am, and we’ve observed the embargo out of politeness.…
What an exciting thought :)
We love receiving positive comments and emails from the non-cynics out there. Occasionally there’s an idea in the inbox that is both so good and so timely, we leap to share it.
Today’s example is especially relevant and appealing in the current context, with the reckless commitment of future transport funding by the current government to low-value, high risk, duplicate mega-highways in the exurbs.…
What will Warkworth to Te Hana cost us? And other burning questions
Last week, late on Thursday afternoon, Minister of Transport Chris Bishop announced that the government had signed the contract for a Public Private Partnership for Warkworth to Te Hana.
This answers our long-running question: are they seriously going to go ahead with this?…
Quick! Speak up for Local Board Three-Year Plans
Keen to influence what happens in your community? Give feedback on your Local Board’s three-year plan, now open for consultation. In short: if the local board hasn’t put it in the plan, it’s not going to happen.
Feedback closes at the end of the day, this Thursday 23 July 2026, so get in quick!…
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