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.…
4 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.…
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.…
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.…
We can have beautiful things!
As anticipation ramps up for the imminent opening of the CRL, the areas around the stations are coming to life.
Larger than life, even! Yesterday morning saw the unveiling of a magnificent 7.2m high bronze sculpture of a tuna kūwharuwharu (longfin eel) at the intersection of Victoria and Queen Streets.…
Build this beautiful, affordable and visionary new bridge
The following is an op-ed which ran in the Sunday Star Times and online in The Post on July 12th 2026.
You can find more information about the bridge proposal here. The way we routinely approach big transport problems is broken.…
How we got the CRL
Late last year I sat down outside Waitematā Station with the Godfather of the CRL to discuss how he did it, plus some further ruminations on our city’s development.
As we count down to the opening of the City Rail Link, just a matter of weeks now, it is really interesting to go back over how the project was fought for and finally approved.…
Throwback Thursday: Imagine, a City
Today’s throwback story by Patrick Reynolds is quite a recent one, from December 2025. We’re sharing it again prompted by Chris Parker – comedian, aka truth-teller – whose positive affirmations of Auckland struck a chord with us, and likely will for our readers, too.…
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