Auckland mayor 'concerned' about new Labour transport policy, Wellington mayor backs it

Thursday, 11 June 2026

Auckland mayor Wayne Brown says he’s “concerned” about how Labour’s new transport policy will be funded and what the city might miss out on as a result of its cost.

Further south, Wellington mayor Andrew Little is backing the policy saying it would be good for the capital’s public transport users.

On Wednesday morning Labour leader Chris Hipkins and transport spokesperson Tangi Utikere said if they were returned to government they’d introduce a fare cap on public transport at a cost of $65 million per year.

In Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch fares would be capped at $20 per week, while the rest of the country’s systems would be capped at $10 per week.

Labour said it would be paid for via the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF), which uses the taxes in petrol and road user charges to pay for the country’s transport projects.

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Wayne Brown told The Post he was supportive of initiatives that got people onto public transport but was concerned by the policy’s funding model given the NLTF was already under “extreme pressure”.

“The current Government is already well short of money for their Roads of National Significance.”

He said that under the Auckland regional deal which was signed in April his council would want “some input into what we will miss out on to pay for this generous public transport programme”.

Under the deal the two parties agreed that their relationship would be built on collaboration and “constructive engagement at the political and official levels”.

He noted Auckland’s services would need more support given that popular bus routes such as the Northern Express were full on busy days already.

Little was supportive of Labour’s announcement.

“It would certainly be very good for Wellington, a city which has a high number of public transport users.”

Little said he did not pitch the policy to Labour’s parliamentary team.

“I haven’t made any specific pitches to the Labour Party, so it was definitely pleasing to see this policy but no doubt their thinking is similar to mine.”

He said it would go further than what he pitched during the local body election which was a public transport cap after the eighth fare.

“If they are successful and they implemented it from 1 July next year that’s kind of job done from my point of view, so that’s another reason why I would be pleased to see it.”

Little said that on the bus he took to work each day, it would cover half of the week’s travel for free.

Transport Minister Chris Bishop had criticised Labour’s latest policy saying it was “fanciful”.

“The reality is this policy will come with higher taxes or more borrowing, or both, and both will be ultimately destructive to the economy, and indeed the cost of living pressures that they claim to care so much about.”

Bishop said the NLTF was already under pressure.

“They need to explain what this will come at the expense of. The reality is they will just borrow the money, just more money whacked on the New Zealand credit card bill.”