Peters calls harbour crossing report a gross waste of money
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has criticized the government's spending on reports for a second Auckland harbour crossing, calling for the project to go to tender immediately. The government defends the process, noting that the decision to commission reports was made by the Cabinet.
Why it matters
The dispute highlights internal government friction regarding infrastructure spending and project management in New Zealand.
<p>New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says the best option for a second harbour crossing in Auckland should go out to tender now.</p> <p>Transport Minister Chris Bishop is <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/08/18/transport-minister-defends-yet-another-harbour-crossing-report/" target="_blank">defending commissioning another report on a second harbour crossing</a> in Auckland, while Labour says in three years the government has made no progress on the issue.</p> <p>More than $106 million has been spent on consultants and contractors to date, but there is still <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/08/17/auckland-harbour-crossing-decision-deferred-to-at-least-2027/" target="_blank">no plan for what should be built</a> and how.</p> <p>But Peters told the NZ Herald that was a gross waste of money.</p> <p>Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he did not know what Peters was talking about.</p> <p>"It was a Cabinet decision, made a while ago, and there are three New Zealand First ministers in that Cabinet," he said.</p> <p>"They signed up for this decision."</p> <p>Bishop was repeatedly asked whether Peters had breached Cabinet rules by…
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