Wayne Brown calls National's $1.75b Mill Road plan 'idiotic'

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has called National's $1.75 billion Mill Road project "idiotic".

He made the remark to RNZ's Morning Report, reported on 7 October RNZ. He said politicians in Wellington should stop making promises that Aucklanders end up paying for.

National says it will start construction on Mill Road if it leads the next government. The promise is conditional on the election result. The party says the money would be set aside in the 2028 Budget, so construction could begin later that year RNZ.

Mill Road is on National's list of Roads of National Significance, the major routes the party puts first for funding. Transport spokesperson Chris Bishop said National was getting on with it after years of debate.

Brown rejected that case. He said a new four-lane road was not the answer NZ Herald. He said the issue was cost and who pays. Wellington makes the announcement, while Auckland rates and regional fuel charges carry the risk.

In the same interview, Brown said he was working to remove five sets of traffic lights in central Auckland RNZ. He did not link that work to the Mill Road proposal.

For background, the Government allocated a record $8.4 billion for transport in Auckland through the 2024-27 National Land Transport Programme, the three-year funding plan for roads and public transport Beehive.

The broader context here is the funding path National has described. Budget money in 2028 for a start later that year squeezes the normal sequence of approving funds, hiring contractors and preparing the site. People who build roads will read that as a political timetable, not a delivery timetable. It leaves open how much of the $1.75 billion is new government money, how much comes from the National Land Transport Fund, and how much Auckland Council or Auckland Transport would pay as a local share.

In my view, the exchange is also about positioning ahead of coalition and council talks. A mayor who opposes a flagship road can set terms for local support. A party that locks in a start date can set terms for its transport plans. Both know they will need each other after the election. Brown's language was blunt. The point underneath was about money. Do not announce in Wellington and invoice in Auckland.

Looking at what this means for officials and advisers, the questions to weigh are narrow. Is the 2028 Budget promise for day-to-day spending or for a long-term asset. What consents and property costs already sit with the Crown. And what the city-centre traffic-light plan means for traffic measures the council and NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi report together. None of that is settled by an interview. It is where the next detailed promise would need to land.