Auckland Light Rail Project Axed: Taxpayers Save Nearly $15,000 Per Household, Says Taxpayers' Union

The New Zealand government has cancelled the Auckland Light Rail project, claiming that it would have cost $29.2bn - almost twice the amount that had originally been estimated.

According to Transport Minister Simeon Brown, the previous government had committed to beginning construction of the light rail scheme to Mt Roskill within four years of coming to power, but after six years and more than $228m spent, not a single metre of track had been laid.

Brown stated that the new government had decided to scrap the project in order to focus on a rapid transit network involving the completion of the City Rail Link and work on a Northwest Rapid Transit corridor, describing the move as a way of stopping work on a project that had not delivered and embarking on critical transport infrastructure schemes that Auckland needs.

In response to the cancellation of the Auckland Light Rail project, James Ross, Policy Adviser at the Taxpayers' Union, expressed his satisfaction with the decision.

Ross criticized the project as a costly vanity project, stating that it had wasted nearly a quarter of a billion dollars without laying a single meter of track.

He emphasized that during a cost-of-living crisis caused by irresponsible government spending, struggling Kiwi families should not have to bear the burden of overpriced nice-to-haves in Auckland.

The Taxpayers' Union estimates the cost of the project to reach almost $15,000 per household, and Ross believes that the cancellation of the project will bring relief to families across the country.