Connor Sharp

@connorsharp

Campaign Director @greaterauckland.bsky.social and #1 light rail fan 'Unaffiliated Individual' - NZ Infrastructure Commission Officially more popular than a Real Housewife of Auckland Views my own

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Connor Sharp@connorsharp· 12d

Interesting that part of the sensitivity tests for the BCR are also redacted due to risk of 'prejudicing commercial sensitivities'! Wonder what that is

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· 12d

Wow all the PPP payments are redacted for Warkworth to Te Hana! Amazing how transparent that is :)

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· 12d

Amazing that the massively boosted BCR for Warkworth to Te Hana is still just over 1 (doubling since the 2019 business case despite the projects cost also doubling) Funny that spending more money on RoNS is also counter to the cross party supported National Infrastructure plan!

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· 14d

Good article, but doesn't mention the fact that Mike Lee wrote the foreword to the Ratepayers Alliance alt budget lol

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· 27d

I think it takes the top prize every time lol

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· 29d

Sure, but imo any group that claims to represent residents/businesses etc should have criteria that outline who can become a member other than 'fill out an application form' ie see Grey Lynn RA or the City Centre Residents Group!

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· 29d

Do they represent local residents and businesses on K Road? Well you need approval from the committee to join the society sooooo I'll let that speak for itself

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· Jul 9

Anyways as I said last year: www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2025/11/06/t...

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· Jul 9

Me in the media lately

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· Jun 27

As an example, see here Wayne Brown's recollection of a phone call between him and Simeon Brown on 18th December 2023

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· Jun 21

That is the implication of this paper

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· Jun 21

What's really fun is the fact they are no longer proactively release board minutes, is stated clearly on their website!

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· Jun 21

NZTA is also the same organisation whose Executive Leadership Team decided to stop proactively releasing it's board minutes and papers to the public. A decision which, when asked directly by MPs at scrutiny week, NZTA's Chief Executive was apparently unaware of...

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· Jun 19

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· Jun 18

Heres Auckland Councils high level assessment of Warkworth to Te Hana against strategic outcomes from a couple of years ago. Notice how WW2TH is very very red under 'Quality Compact Growth' Almost like Council DOESN'T WANT GROWTH IN GREENFIELDS like Wellsford????

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· Jun 18

I love when NZTA says that Warkworth to Te Hana should be four laned because of traffic growth This is the level of traffic growth needed to justify it under the 2019 business case (extremely heroic assumptions) And this would lead to 6 total lanes between Te Hana and Warkworth

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· Jun 15

Anyways would love people to claim that getting a lot of cars of Quay Street in Auckland was a bad idea!

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· Jun 15

How the fuck do you get $-443 million disbenefit for cars being slightly diverted from a City Centre. it's a good thing Wellington! Like fucking what is this Golden Mile review lol?

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· Jun 9

You know its a hot topic at Council with 70 people watching the livestream! Lets hope Councillors vote to put plans for more housing out for feedback @richardhills.bsky.social @juliefairey.bsky.social

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· May 31

Shinkansen goes zoooooooommm 🚄🚄🚄

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· May 26

My comments in The Post today on behalf of @greaterauckland.bsky.social , talking about what we want to see (and don't want to see) in tomorrows budget! In short, don't sink billions into bad roading projects, but instead good normal sized roading projects, walking, cycling, and public transport!

Screenshot of an article from The Post. Picture of Connor smiling, grey shirt, with red box and trees in background.
Text reads:
Connor Sharp
Writer, Greater Auckland (urbanist Group)

More transport funding should be devolved to local government, especially Auckland, and immediately directed towards improving access, safety and transport choices.
For starters: immediately reset the “Roads of National Significance” programme. Stop pouring billions away on overscoped four-lane mega-highways like Warkworth to Te Hana (a $4b folly) and other zombie projects lurching towards us.
Instead, invest in what’s nationally necessary: heaps of nimble, normal-sized safety and resilience improvements, like 2+1 roads, bypasses of towns, median barriers, safer intersections.
Skip the LNG terminal. Instead, empower New Zealanders by electrifying homes and businesses with subsidies for distributed solar and batteries. Invest in electric transport: buses, ferries, EVs and e-bikes.
Build the basics and give people fossil-fuel-free ways to get around. Deliver reliable world-class public transport for the 80% of us who live in cities: a bus or train every 10 minutes, all day, every route. Fast-track Auckland’s Northwest busway and other rapid transit like Dominion Rd light rail. Rapidly roll out full bike networks in every city for all-ages access. Revive intercity rail.
Lastly, don’t sink billions into costly car tunnels under the Waitematā! Get cracking on an iconic bridge that frees up the missing modes: walking, cycling, buses and rail.

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· May 26

Took 6 hours for the amendment to be voted down 15 votes against 8 for

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· May 26

Ah ok so 48% of people supported the Mayoral proposal

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· May 21

The answer is not a gold plated four lane expressway megaproject, that justifies itself on 0 of its own business cases metrics. And for context heres when the stretch of road (might) hit the threshhold identified in the 2019 business case as well as 2018 North Island SH1 numbers

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· May 21

Anyways, last question from JAG. Is Warkworth to Te Hana a good use of billions of $, for a road that has less than 0.1% of New Zealands traffic. Bishop now lists off all the other purported benefits around safety and resilience. And again repeats the BCR will be put out later

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· May 21

Like Auckland Councils Transport Policy Statement explicitly calls out Warkworth to Te Hana, as a project that is unjustified. This is the overarching policy of Auckland, approved unanimously by Council including former National Party Minister of Transport Maurice Williamson!

Prioritising large projects
The government has prioritised several major projects for investment in Auckland,
including:
• Mill Road
• East West Link
• North West Alternative State Highway (Kumeū Bypass)
• Warkworth to Te Hana Motorway
• Additional Waitematā Harbour Crossing
Auckland Council has not yet seen sufficient evidence to suggest that these projects are
the highest priority investments for Auckland, nor to confirm an official position on most of
them. The exception to this is the Additional Waitematā Harbour Crossing project, which
Council considered in December 2023 and resolved that it could not support due to:
• a lack of clear problem definition
• concerns about affordability and value for money
• failure to adequately consider lower cost alternatives
• lack of Council involvement in project development and decision making
• proposal for delayed provision of public and active transport crossings
• uncertainty around scale of benefits
Auckland Council notes that the Infrastructure Commission’s recently released National
Infrastructure Plan (see page 67) expresses similar concerns about this project.
Auckland Council also supports the Infrastructure Commission’s view that other lower cost
interventions must be explored before decisions are made to invest billions of dollars in
new infrastructure. The Commission’s interventions hierarchy sets this out in detail.
More generally, Auckland Council notes that the development of the Rapid Transit
Network should be prioritised over further expansion of the motorway system given the
relative state of completion of both and the greater potential of public transport to more
cost effectively enable Auckland’s growth and deliver a wide range of other benefits.
Given these concerns and the severely constrained funding context, it is critical that all
potential projects are assessed on an equal footing to ensure that the best value for money
investments are prioritised.

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· May 21

So Bishop answers anyways, and talks about the so called benefits, its a Nation Building project, will connect Northland to Auckland. Will address some of those claims in the next question, but WW2TH doesn't even make it to Northland! And its opposed by Auckland Council!

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· May 21

This gets point of ordered for 'assertion'. JAG brings up the Herald article today, but Brownlee dismisses that saying 'lots of places you can go to get an authoritative comment, the front page of the Herald would not be one of them'

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· May 21

So yeah, no idea why Bishop didn't answer that question, and why Brownlee thought that was an ok answer. Anyways next question is asking why the govt is proceeding on the most expensive road project ever in New Zealand, while cutting public service to 'balance the books'.

Connor Sharp@connorsharp· May 21

Anyways, next question around the fossil fuel crisis. JAG asks if increasing cost of construction and less revenue from less fuel tax, and less driving justifies the road. Bishop deflects, brings up an academic paper from JAG from 2008 to attack her, and doesn't answer the Q