Public transport and housing must be prioritised from remnants of Let's Get Wellington Moving

The new government's decision to walk away from Let's Get Wellington Moving shows they are still tied to the failed approach of building more roads.

Wellington’s Green MPs Tamatha Paul and Julie Anne Genter said the people of Wellington deserve a clear long-term plan to build more affordable homes, cut climate pollution and improve active and public transport across the city.

“National scrapping Let’s Get Wellington Moving doesn’t change the fact that we need an achievable plan to address the real transport and housing challenges our city faces right now. The good news is that there are remnants in the scrap heap that we can build from,” says MP for Rongotai and Green Party transport spokesperson, Julie Anne Genter.

“This government is more interested in putting projects through the shredder than it is in developing a vision for the future of our towns and cities. Our job as Wellingtonians now is to organise and push the government into making the right decisions for the future of the city we love.

“We have already seen this working in the decision to retain the Golden Mile, which three months ago the National Party had pledged to scrap. I am delighted that even without Let’s Get Wellington Moving, people will see those essential improvements around that part of the city.

“The time is now to build from this and to develop a clear and realistic plan to cut climate pollution, build affordable homes, and better public transport right across the city.

“My first priority is to make sure the Government’s commitment to improve public transport takes priority over the Basin works and tunnel. These mega projects will come with huge costs and create disruption, and the sad reality is they will not noticeably improve people’s ability to move around the city.

"National's expensive plan to put in a new road tunnel through Mt Victoria shows they're more interested in kickbacks to the roading lobby than effective transport solutions for the people of Wellington. More roads just move bottlenecks - transport alternatives remove them"

“Adding one extra lane in each direction for about a kilometre won’t stop traffic jams at peak time in our city. It just moves the congestion to other parts of the road network. It remains a fact that rapid transit is needed to support more people living and moving around the city. The Green Party remains committed to light rail from Wellington train station out to Island Bay - with new apartments and townhouses along the route,” says Julie Anne Genter.

Green Party MP for Wellington Central and Green Party housing spokesperson, Tamatha Paul added:

“All people want is a bus that shows up on time, decent pay for bus drivers, and to move around without having to worry about their safety. I want tamariki to get to school safely and to know their future is safe with decision makers who make the right decisions by the environment.

“The last thing our city needs is expensive state highway projects. We know that tunnels and extra lanes do nothing to provide the step change our transport system needs. But we will not give up on the sustainable transport that we all dream for that will allow us to move around confidently and safely.

“We have a once in a generation opportunity to address the climate crisis and build the affordable housing we desperately need. Confidence is low and we have wasted far too much time drawing on maps. It’s time to deliver for our city so I’m pleased to see local and central government coming together to start delivering,” says Tamatha Paul.

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