Better scrutiny – but a RoNS-sized loophole?
Better information and advice about infrastructure projects is needed but it won’t do much if government ministers don’t listen to it.
Some of the recommendations of the recently released National Infrastructure Plan revolved around providing better scrutiny over infrastructure projects and yesterday at the Infrastructure Commission’s conference, the government announced changes to how that happens.…
19 Comments Is reality setting in, re the Northland RONS?
There have been a couple of pieces this week about a few parts of the Northland Motorway that show reality is starting to bubble up – but will it reach the surface in time?
On Monday there was an op-ed in the Northern Advocate, from Whangārei Mayor Ken Couper.…
Riding the Wave: Whanganui’s New Network
This is a guest post by Darren Davis. It originally appeared on his excellent blog, Adventures in Transitland, which we encourage you to check out. It is shared by kind permission. Introduction Friday, 17th April 2026 is important for two reasons.…
Getting better use of our transport networks.
Letting trucks use bus lanes – currently being proposed as a fuel crisis measure – might sound like a sensible solution, but it risks undermining broader goals around our transport system.
At the end of last week saw a few interesting comments from Mainfreight CEO Don Braid, and a swift response from Mayor Wayne Brown.…
Weekly Roundup 17-April-2026
It’s Friday again and here is the latest crop of articles and items that caught our attention. This week in Greater Auckland On Monday, Matt looked into the recently signed Auckland City Deal to see if there actually was anything notable.…
For the Avoidance of Diesel, and Doubt
Yet another (not unexpected) fossil-fuel supply crunch is here. It will continue to affect everything in our economy. And be painful. But it should also, at last, shift discussion and action much more strongly towards reducing our structural dependency on fossil fuels where we can.…
AT Surveying about Western Line Level Crossings
As we’ve highlighted before, when the City Rail Link opens later this year the Western Line is set to benefit the most. Not only will it see the addition of two new city-centre stations (which all lines will benefit from), it also gets a significantly upgraded station (Maungawhau).…
City Deal, or No Deal?
On Friday, the government and the Mayor of Auckland celebrated the signing of a ‘City Deal’ for Auckland, the first such arrangement in the country. But is it really that much of a deal for our city, or just another empty handshake?…
Weekly Roundup 10-April-2026
Welcome back to Friday. It might be a short week, but we’ve got plenty on our weekly roundup. Also: Auckland is currently under a heavy rain watch for the weekend due to the incoming cyclone, so please stay safe out there and keep an eye on the weather alerts.…
The government’s fossil fuel folly
The following is an op-ed I wrote which ran in The Post on April 7th 2026. It’s not often a government’s chickens come home to roost so quickly, let alone within a single term. But here we are.
Fuel supplies are strangled by a war halfway across the world, revealing the folly of a system so reliant on fossil fuels.…
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