Time running out for transport plan, plus the search for Willow

[Your Auckland header] Hi {NAME}, The sands of parliamentary time run out for action on big ticket Auckland items Some of Auckland’s slowest-moving issues are heading for another spell on the backburner with Parliament to rise at the end of August, ahead of the final run to the general election on October 14. [Congestion charging]( the [future of light rail]( and mayor Wayne Brown’s 8-month-old desire to create one transport plan to rule them all have all moved too slowly to reach critical stages under this government. The possibility of a change of government in October leaves all of the above uncertain. [Light rail]( the most excruciating potential big leap, with more than eight years having passed since the council agency Auckland Transport floated the idea and believed work could start during 2016. The mayor declared it a “dead duck, mate” in a March radio interview, but work on its business case, and design, continue in the government unit Auckland Light Rail (ALR). A congestion charge for vehicles entering central Auckland was backed as a council-created “consensus group” in 2013, and a decade later got as far as being backed by a parliamentary select committee, before National took issue with details and prospective legislation stalled. After he was elected in October 2002, Brown made much of the absence of an overarching transport plan agreed with the government - and in December announced the start of work on one, to be finished by May. Following a change of transport minister from Michael Wood to David Parker in late June, there’s no sign it will surface in the remaining weeks of parliament, let alone be approved by the council and cabinet. The future will soon be the present, and with population growth recovering to pre-Covid levels, Auckland and whoever forms the next government, need to get moving on plans that cut emissions, as well as providing and encouraging alternatives to driving. [Todd Niall] Todd Niall Senior Reporter   [See more Auckland news →]( [timer][trk_px] [timer][trk_px] Public, police put on huge search after 2-year-old Willow went missing in Auckland It was early afternoon when the toddler went missing from her West Auckland garden. She was found hours later, after a mass public search. [Read more →](   Enjoying this email? [Check out Stuff's other daily and weekly newsletters.]( [timer][trk_px] More Auckland stories you might have missed   Auckland political candidates' election billboards spotted going up early [Read more →]( Drivers who speed through roadworks could face fines after traffic camera trial [Read more →]( Gym-goers band together to stop ramraids and turn teen lives around [Read more →]( 'Six months in trauma': Muriwai residents gather to remember cyclone's devastation [Read more →](   We want the best for Aotearoa's biggest city, but we need your help to keep reporting on local issues. Support our newsroom by making a contribution. [I'd like to contribute →]( [Discover more Auckland news at Stuff]( You are receiving this email because you are opted in to receive the Your Auckland newsletter. [Unsubscribe or manage your newsletter preferences]( [Privacy Policy]( Did a friend forward you this email? [Sign up to get the Your Auckland newsletter in your inbox.]( Stuff, 4 Williamson Ave, Ponsonby, Auckland 1021, New Zealand [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [TikTok](