Since 2017 Govt Has Spent $50M on 200 Different Consulting Firms on Auckland Light Rail 'Gravy Train'
December 23, 2022
PHOTO: NZ Herald
The Government has hired about 200 different consulting firms to work on its Auckland Light Rail project in the five years since 2017, costing over $50 million.
National’s transport spokesman Simeon Brown described the spend as a “gravy train”, noting that despite the volume of firms clipping the ticket, Aucklanders are a long way from having their hypothetical light rail tickets clipped themselves. Not an inch of the line has been built, despite an election promise from Labour leader Jacinda Ardern to have the first stage from Britomart to Mt Roskill built by now.
The spend, revealed in answers to written Parliamentary questions from Brown, included multiple consulting firms, law firms, and transport specialists. The Government even engaged market researcher Colmar Brunton.
Firms hired by the Government include multiple companies that are direct competitors with one another, like law firms Chapman Tripp, Meredith Connell, Buddle Findlay, and MinterEllisonRuddWatts. They also include competing consultancies like PwC, EY, and KPMG.