Summarised by Centrist
Transport Minister Chris Bishop was warned by his own officials nearly a year ago that National’s flagship roading programme offered poor value, before announcing major delays to projects promised during the 2023 election campaign.
Political commentator Bryce Edwards writes that a July 2025 Ministry of Transport briefing described the Roads of National Significance as “relatively low value”.
Officials said all the projects initially assessed had benefit-cost ratios below three, with some below one, meaning their expected benefits would not cover their costs.
They also warned that any growth or productivity benefits were likely to be “outweighed by the financial burden placed on households”.
National originally promised 13 new Roads of National Significance, later expanding the programme to 17. Only six are now in construction or procurement, while others have been shifted into planning, route protection or long-term preparation.
Bishop denies the revised programme amounts to a backdown, describing it as “an attempt to recalibrate people’s expectations”.
However, Herald political editor Thomas Coughlan said the delayed roads were “as good as cancelled”, while Wellington Mayor Andrew Little called the revised programme “more pipedream than pipeline”.
Edwards argues the retreat cannot be blamed solely on recent international disruption because the programme was already unaffordable and officials had warned ministers of its weak economic case.
The full programme was estimated to cost $56 billion over 20 years. Funding it through petrol taxes and road-user charges would have required an increase equivalent to about 49 cents a litre.
Edwards concludes that National sold voters specific roads, costs and construction dates, then replaced those promises with “a pipeline full of caveats”.
