Let's Get Wellington Moving spending rolls on with axe over its neck

Wednesday, 2 August 2023

Let’s Get Wellington Moving continues to spend, with the appointment of an external consultant tipped to be paid about $500 per hour and $73,000 on new office furniture, while its future hangs in the balance.

Sources have confirmed that there have been active recent talks about splitting the $7.4 billion transport package into its component parts — such as light rail, a second Mount Victoria tunnel, and cycleways — rather than treat it as one multi-faceted project.

It comes after Labour refused to commit to the scheme, following a promise from the National Party that it would ditch Let’s Get Wellington Moving (LGWM) if elected in October. National would keep a second Mt Victoria tunnel and revise a plan for a Petone to Grenada link road.

“They should absolutely put a stop of continual spending of taxpayer money without any plan to deliver,” National transport spokesperson Simeon Brown said on Tuesday.

Greater Wellington and Wellington City councillors remain divided on the project.

In light of the central government developments, LGWM programme director Sarah Gardner was asked if LGWM would put a hold on any big spends until after the October election.

In an emailed statement, she said work was progressing with projects approved by programme partners — Waka Kotahi, the Wellington City Council, and Greater Wellington Regional Council.

About $120 million had been spent so far on LGWM and it was not yet known how much it would cost to ditch it.

The first big LGWM projects were about to get under way.

Work on the $94m Thorndon Quay and Hutt Rd revamps had already started with the big work starting late in 2023. Some work on the $139.4m Golden Mile revamp starts in September with major works from April 2024.

Meanwhile, a leaked LGWM internal memo from Friday shows that consultant Amelia East has been appointed as LGWM’s “executive director transformation” until Christmas. A consultant source said East would likely be paid about $500 per hour.

East is understood to have been with Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau on a recent night out where she left without paying a restaurant bill. It is understood that East contacted the restaurant the next day and settled the bill, but she would not comment when asked about it.

It was previously revealed that LGWM had spent $38.5m on external consultants over three years, was on track to spend $35m in the past financial year, and expected its external consultant bill for the current financial year to reach $60m.

LGWM recently moved into new offices. Figures released under the Official Information Act shows that move cost $113,524, of which $73,752 was on new furniture.

The cost was relatively small compared to the $28.5m spent by Waka Kotahi on its new office. But LGWM partly needed new space as its staff and external worker numbers were expected to go from about 75 to up to 150.

Regional councillor Thomas Nash, a strong LGWM supporter, said projects such as the Golden Mile and Thorndon Quay were already budgeted for and he was confident they would proceed.

He understood National would also back bus priority lanes and believed light rail would eventually be built.

“It really is when and how, not if,” he said.

Fellow councillor David Lee, who has called for LGWM to be ditched, agreed that Thorndon Quay and Golden Mile changes, as well as bus priority, could still be delivered.

“Nothing else has funding so no certainty,” he said.

LGWM refused to say how much East was being paid due to commercial sensitivity. It is processing the request under the Official Information Act.