14 October 2019

The Transport Minister must swallow his pride and sit down with Wellington’s new mayor to hammer out a Let’s Get Wellington Moving deal that people actually want, National’s Transport spokesperson Chris Bishop says.

“It is difficult to see Andy Foster’s election defeat of Justin Lester as anything other than a rejection of the Let’s Get Wellington Moving package Lester cooked up behind closed doors with Phil Twyford and Julie Anne Genter.

“It didn’t deliver what Wellingtonians want or need. They cancelled the second Terrace tunnel and trenching of SH1, then Julie Anne Genter’s now infamous secret letter killed off a second Mt Vic tunnel anytime soon.

“Justin Lester tried to spin it as the ‘best deal possible’ but angry and frustrated Wellingtonians saw through this. That’s why he started pushing for progress on the Mt Vic tunnel during the campaign.

“Phil Twyford is fond of saying the Let’s Get Wellington Moving package has unanimous support from councils across the Wellington region. That is no longer the case.

“He must now do four things. First, return to the negotiating table and deliver a transport package Wellingtonians want. Second, exclude Julie Anne Genter from the process.

“Third, he needs to be upfront with Wellingtonians about the secret letter she sent to him and release it forthwith.

“Fourth, he needs to keep Welllington’s regional mayors into the loop this time, rather than just announce projects after only giving them a few hours’ notice.

“Phil Twyford can deliver an effective and popular Let’s Get Wellington Moving package, but only if he heeds the call sent by Wellingtonians during the mayoral election.”

ends

© Scoop Media