It comes after National promised to end Labour’s “gravy train” of consultant spending and as NZ TransportAgency Waka Kotahi staff are losing their jobs as part of the Government’s public sector cuts.
It has since been confirmed that work on the proposal is being led by a small NZTA team, along with one full-time contractor and one full-time consultant.
“They are providing specialist technical advice on geotechnical and cost estimation matters”, a NZTA spokesperson said.
“Specialist expertise is also being drawn from professional services firms.”
Labour Transport spokesman Tangi Utikere said getting rid of jobs and then often paying twice as much to get someone else to do it was not saving money.
“It continues to be a hypocritical pattern of behaviour from this Government to use consultants, especially when it has put more than 4500 people out of work.”
“Instead of making consultants rich with endless talk fests and working groups, the Government needs to get on and deliver the transport projects Wellington needs such as the second Mt Victoria Tunnel”, Brown said in Opposition.
“It spent six years and more than $180 million but only managed to introduce ways to slow Wellingtonians down.
“The existing Mt Victoria Tunnel was built in 1931 and services more than 37,000 vehicle movements per day. After almost 100 years, Wellingtonians need a new tunnel to keep this city connected, and that’s why we’re currently considering the long tunnel as an option.”
A long tunnel could make trips in the Wellington region to the airport up to 15 minutes faster, Brown said.
This is compared to motorists saving between two and three minutes for the current parallel or diagonal tunnel proposals at Mt Victoria.
Brown said he has made his expectations clear that NZTA’s work will be completed by the middle of this year and at a minimal cost.
“The Government is committed to building a second Mt Victoria tunnel. The work NZTA is undertaking will bring both the long tunnel and parallel tunnel proposals up to the same standard so the costs, benefits, and opportunities of each project can be assessed.
“We want to make sure we have all options on the table so that the right one can proceed that reduces congestion and helps get Wellingtonians to where they want to go quickly and safely.”
In Opposition, Transport Minister Simeon Brown criticised Labour’s spending on contractors and consultants. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The Herald requested how much the contractor and consultant were being paid but this was declined.
“The value of the contracts with the companies providing the technical assistance on this work is commercially sensitive”, a NZTA spokesperson said.
“Because there are only two individuals involved supporting the work full-time, disclosing specific sums paid could also breach their privacy by effectively disclosing their remuneration. On these grounds, we do not believe the public interest test is met in terms of releasing the information.”
The cost of advising the Minister on the tunnel proposal is being paid for out of the National Land Transport Fund.
Brown previously said the long tunnel option aligned with priorities in the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport, including reduced travel times, greater resilience along the State Highway 1 corridor, and improved safety for road users, pedestrians and cyclists.
“The option would also see better urban amenity through greater reallocation of surface level road space to active modes and public transport in the CBD and greater opportunities for housing intensification,” Brown said.
“Enhanced regional connectivity to the airport and hospital would also be achieved with reduced city and state highway congestion.”
Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.
