A “secret letter” written by Green MP Julie Anne Genter expressing concerns around increased capacity for private vehicles in the Let’s Get Wellington Moving (LGWM) project has been revealed.
Transport minister Michael Wood has decided to release the letter in full and follows complaints to the Ombudsman by National MPs.
Genter wrote the letter in 2019 when she was associate transport minister to then transport minister Phil Twyford.
It has been a source of controversy as Genter had refused to reveal the contents of the letter while opposition MPs speculated it had greatly influenced the direction of Wellington’s multibillion-dollar transport package, including the axing of a second Mt Victoria tunnel.
In the now revealed letter, Genter writes:
“I would like to raise my concerns about the indicative package of investments and propose an alternative way forward.
“I have two key concerns about this package. Firstly, the State Highway components of the package do not align with the goals of LGWM or the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport, such as mode shift and reducing greenhouse gas emission.
“The proposed Basin Reserve bridge and second Mount Victoria tunnel will create a four lane road from Mount Victoria, through Hataitai to Cobham drive.
“The evidence is clear that increasing capacity for private vehicles encourages more people to drive, increases congestion, undermines demand for public transport, and results in an urban environment dominated by cars, rather than people.
“Increasing capacity for private vehicles at this point in the network will not make it easier to drive in Wellington. It will induce traffic and simply move congestion to the next set of traffic lights in the corridor. This in turn will increase the community’s expectation that the long term solution is to further increase private vehicle capacity on the state highway and adjoining local roads.
“My second concern is that there is not sufficient funding in this package to deliver light rail or a high quality bus rapid transit service. I fear the most likely result of this package will be that the ‘ready-to- go’ State Highway projects will be delivered in the short term while rapid transit is delayed or squeezed out of the programme due to a lack of funding,” Genter wrote.
National MP Chris Bishop says Genter refused to release the letter on the grounds she wrote it as Greens transport spokesperson. However, he points out it was written on ministerial letterhead and signed as associate minister.
“The real mystery is why it took three years to release what everyone knows/knew: The Greens and Labour collaborated to kill a second Mt Vic Tunnel. They will never deliver it,” Bishop says.
In a statement to the NZ Herald, Genter said: “It’s important for political parties in government together to be able to have discussions about major policy issues. We’re pleased that in this case the Greens and Labour have agreed to waive the normal protections for confidential political discussions.”
