We’re upgrading New Zealand’s transport system to make it safer, greener, and more efficient. We’re investing in projects around the country that will prevent deaths and injuries on our roads, ease traffic congestion, support our transition to a low-carbon future, and create jobs.
We also acted quickly to cut fuel excise by 25c a litre, reduce road user charges and introduce half price transport, to provide immediate relief for Kiwis as the war in Ukraine drives up fuel prices globally.
Here are just some of the ways we’re keeping New Zealand moving:
Reducing our carbon footprint
We’re taking climate change seriously by making our transport network more sustainable. We’ve delivered record investments in public transport and walking and cycling improvements, and we’re supporting councils to fully decarbonise the public transport bus fleet by 2035. We’ve also made a good start on supporting New Zealanders to move to an electric or hybrid vehicle. We’ve introduced a Clean Car Standard to increase the supply of cleaner cars in New Zealand, and our Clean Car Discount is making it cheaper for Kiwi families to buy electric and low-emission cars. In fact, the Clean Car Discount has led to a 15% reduction in emissions from new imported vehicles and more than tripling the number of new electric vehicles being sold each month. We’re also funding more public EV chargers around the country to make it easier for Kiwis to run lower emissions vehicles, and we’re supporting businesses to pilot new low emission transport technology.
Getting back on track
We’re investing heavily in rail, to help connect our regions and take more trucks off the roads. We’re funding new rail workshops in Dunedin and Christchurch, which will create hundreds of local jobs, improve our freight infrastructure, and support apprenticeships. We’ve also funded the refurbishment of 15 electric trains running between Hamilton and Palmerston North, invested in Te Huia commuter rail service to connect Waikato and Auckland, and we’re progressing Auckland light rail to develop a modern, connected mass-transit system.
Keeping cities moving
Our public transport investments aim to cut congestion and enable growth by getting cities moving. Projects include the Puhinui rail and bus interchange that will allow a 10-minute bus connection to Auckland Airport, a major upgrade of the Wellington metro network to make services quicker and more reliable, and new busways in Christchurch and Queenstown. We’re also bringing forward planning for an additional Waitematā Harbour crossing to build a fully integrated transport network in our largest city.
Investing in our regions
We’re boosting our regional economies by upgrading roads, rail, bridges, and ports around the country. This includes the Ōpōtiki Harbour development, roading projects like those included in the Kaipara kickstart package, the Wairoa-Napier rail line, and more projects that will not only ensure Kiwis can get around more efficiently but will support local jobs and businesses, too.
Putting safety first
Improving road safety is our number one transport priority, which is why we’ve made significant safety improvements on our state highways and regional roads. As part of the Safe Network Programme, we’ve improved over 3,000kms of road – installing road safety barriers in high-risk areas and upgrading high-risk rural intersections – to help save lives. Our upgrades are expected to prevent up to 160 deaths and serious injuries a year. We’ve also more than doubled the funding for Search and Rescue, and recreational boating safety and safety awareness, to help save lives.
Labour is already rolling out our transport plan that is better, faster and fully funded across the country, including investment into regional and rural roads, to create jobs, address our vast transport infrastructure deficit, and improve public safety on our roads. That’s why we are:
- Building $6.8 billion dollars’ worth of transport projects across the country as part of the NZ Upgrade Programme. This includes major roads, road safety improvements, and rail. It’s expected to create 800-1000 new jobs in our civil construction industry as the first five projects get underway in the next 12 months, and 7,000 to 9,000 direct opportunities for our wider supply chain
- Investing over $700 million for shovel ready transport projects such as cycleways, walkways, ports and roads, to help kick-start the post-COVID rebuild. In total the shovel ready projects will create more than 20,000 jobs up and down New Zealand
- Fast-tracking critical job-rich infrastructure projects through changes to the Resource Management Act so projects can get started and stimulate our economy
In addition to this plan, Labour will continue to invest in electric vehicles through our Low Emission Vehicle Contestable Fund and encourage innovation and investment in EVs, from supermarket delivery vans to more EV chargers, on top of the more than 600 we’ve already installed.