Cancelled Projects

When the government changes, the new lot often scraps what the last lot started - not because it failed, but because it belonged to the other side. Here's what got cancelled, what it had already cost, and where it is now. This is a bipartisan habit, and it runs both ways.

Every incoming government inherits projects it didn't choose - and frequently cancels them. Sometimes that's prudent. Often it means money already spent is written off, work restarts from scratch, and the underlying problem stays unsolved. It runs both ways: 10 National-led cancellations of Labour ideas, 4 the other way, and 4 that have been axed and revived across governments. The figures are the best publicly reported numbers - follow the verify links to check each one.

Auckland Light RailiReX Cook Strait mega-ferriesLake Onslow pumped hydro (NZ Battery Project)Three Waters / Affordable Water ReformsClean Car Discount (EV rebate / 'ute tax')Let's Get Wellington MovingAuckland Regional Fuel TaxMāori Health Authority (Te Aka Whai Ora)East-West Link (Auckland motorway)Charter Schools / Partnership SchoolsNational Standards in schoolsNational's 2017 tax cuts (the 'Family Incomes Package')Three Strikes sentencing lawR&D Tax CreditSocial investment approachBetter Public Services targetsKiwiSaver's original incentivesBiofuel Sales Obligation

Auckland Light Rail

Six years, hundreds of millions, and not a single metre of track.

National-led scrapped Labour's
Whose ideaLabour(2017 flagship; delivery company set up 2021)Cancelled byNational-led coalition14 Jan 2024verify
~$228malready spent

Spent over roughly six years on planning, design, consultants and some strategic land purchases for a ~24km city-to-Māngere line — with no track ever laid. (A released Cabinet paper itemised $178.5m of it; the minister cited $228m.)

Write-off / cancellation cost: Winding up Auckland Light Rail Ltd was expected to cost further millions over about six months.

What happened

Light rail from central Auckland to the airport was a Labour flagship from 2017, with a dedicated company, Auckland Light Rail Ltd, established in 2021 to build a tunnelled ~24km line. The National-led coalition halted work in late November 2023 and formally cancelled the project on 14 January 2024, with Transport Minister Simeon Brown arguing the $15b-plus cost (advice suggested it could reach ~$29b) was unaffordable.

Where it is now

Cancelled and the delivery company disestablished during 2024. There is no funded replacement for the city-to-airport rapid-transit corridor; the government points to the City Rail Link (opening ~2026) and future Northwest busway planning.

The consequences

Roughly $228m produced no built infrastructure, and strategically purchased land is expected to be sold off. Auckland's congested city-to-airport corridor is left without a committed rapid-transit solution, and the specialist team built up to deliver it was dispersed.

iReX Cook Strait mega-ferries

$671m to cancel two ferries — including ~$222m for ships that were never built.

National-led scrapped Labour's
Whose ideaLabour (via KiwiRail)(approved & contracted 2021)Cancelled byNational-led coalitionDec 2023verify
~$671mfinal total cost

The final cost of the cancelled iReX project reached about $671m (reported August 2025), including ~$222m paid to shipyard Hyundai Mipo Dockyard — for ships that were never delivered — plus landside infrastructure, project management and wind-down. Total project cost with port upgrades had been projected to balloon toward $3-4b by late 2023.

What happened

Project iReX would have replaced the ageing Interislander fleet with two large rail-enabled ferries and new terminals at Wellington and Picton, approved and contracted under Labour in 2021 for delivery in 2025-26. Finance Minister Nicola Willis declined further funding in December 2023, saying the cost had 'almost quadrupled'.

Where it is now

Cancelled. A new entity, Ferry Holdings Ltd, is procuring two replacement rail-enabled ferries targeted for around 2029 — roughly four years later than iReX's planned completion.

The consequences

The ageing fleet — including the Aratere, which grounded near Picton in June 2024 — must run years longer, raising reliability and safety concerns for a critical link in State Highway 1 and the rail network. Much of the ~$671m delivered no ships, and port planning had to be redone.

Lake Onslow pumped hydro (NZ Battery Project)

~$20m of investigation into fixing the 'dry year' problem — then shelved, problem unsolved.

National-led scrapped Labour's
Whose ideaLabour(launched 2020)Cancelled byNational-led coalition3 Dec 2023verify
~$20-22malready spent

Spent on feasibility and investigation of a pumped-hydro scheme at Lake Onslow to cover 'dry year' electricity shortfalls. No construction occurred — all spend was investigation. The full build had been estimated at around $16b.

What happened

The NZ Battery Project, launched by Labour in 2020, investigated large-scale energy storage to cover dry-year hydro shortfalls, with Lake Onslow in Central Otago the lead option. Energy Minister Simeon Brown scrapped it on 3 December 2023, calling it 'hugely wasteful' and citing the ~$16b cost, long timeline and risk of chilling private renewable investment.

Where it is now

Cancelled; investigations stopped and the scheme shelved. No government dry-year storage project is proceeding; the sector continues separate work on security of supply.

The consequences

New Zealand is left without a committed long-term solution to the dry-year problem — when low hydro inflows force reliance on fossil-fuelled backup — which bears on both power prices and decarbonisation. Otago energy academics called the cancellation 'short-sighted'.

Three Waters / Affordable Water Reforms

A whole water-reform programme, built up then torn down — while the $48b problem remains.

National-led scrapped Labour's
Whose ideaLabour(proposed 2020)Cancelled byNational-led coalition14 Feb 2024verify
$1.2b+committed to implementation

Reporting cited around $1.2b committed to implementing the reform, including over $50m on contractors and consultants. (These measure different things from set-asides such as council support, so they should not be summed — see sources.)

What happened

Labour's Three Waters reform (later 'Affordable Water Reforms'), championed by Nanaia Mahuta, would have consolidated ~67 council-run water services into a few large regional entities. The National-led coalition repealed it under urgency, effective 14 February 2024, replacing it with 'Local Water Done Well', which keeps assets under council control.

Where it is now

Repealed and replaced by Local Water Done Well; councils can voluntarily form their own water entities, with new economic regulation and water services delivery plans.

The consequences

The planned regional entities were abolished and much of the implementation work unwound. The underlying problem remains: councils are forecast to spend on the order of $48b on water infrastructure to 2034, and questions persist about whether smaller councils can fund upgrades without the scale of merged entities.

Clean Car Discount (EV rebate / 'ute tax')

Scrapped overnight — and EV sales fell off a cliff the very next month.

National-led scrapped Labour's
Whose ideaLabour(2021-22)Cancelled byNational-led coalition31 Dec 2023verify
~$303mnet cost to the Crown

Over ~2.5 years the scheme paid out about $579m in rebates (up to ~$7,015 per new EV) plus ~$13.5m in admin, while the emission fees ('ute tax') raised about $290m — a net Crown cost of roughly $302.5m. It was repealed under urgency in December 2023.

What happened

Labour's Clean Car Discount rebated low-emission vehicles and charged high-emission ones (the 'ute tax') from 2021-22. Repealing it was in the National-led coalition's 100-day plan; the scheme ended 31 December 2023, and EVs were brought into Road User Charges from 1 April 2024.

Where it is now

Not replaced with any comparable purchase incentive. As of 2025-26 there is no EV purchase subsidy; policy shifted to charging infrastructure, and the importer-facing Clean Car Standard continues in modified form.

The consequences

EV uptake collapsed: new battery-EV registrations fell from ~3,357 in December 2023 (about 39% of that month's sales) to just 244 in January 2024 (about 3%). Full-year 2024 EVs were about 7.7% of new sales, down from ~19.8% in 2023 — roughly a 70% fall, against a rising global average.

Let's Get Wellington Moving

$180m spent, $82m of it on consultants — for a plan that was largely abandoned.

National-led scrapped Labour's
Whose ideaLabour's 2019 investment plan(programme agreed 2019)Cancelled byNational-led coalition17 Dec 2023verify
~$180.7malready spent

Spent on the programme from 2015 to March 2024, including about $82.7m on consultants and advisors — spending widely criticised as 'planning without building', since few major works were delivered. NZTA bore ~$109.7m of the total.

What happened

Let's Get Wellington Moving was a tri-party programme (NZTA and two councils) whose ambitious 2019 investment plan — mass rapid transit, a second Mt Victoria tunnel and the Golden Mile — was a Labour-era commitment. The National-led coalition withdrew central government and the parties agreed to wind up the programme on 17 December 2023.

Where it is now

Disestablished. State-highway elements (a planned second Mt Victoria tunnel, Basin Reserve works) went to NZTA/government; Wellington City Council took over the Golden Mile and local projects. The integrated mass-transit vision is effectively shelved.

The consequences

The flagship mass rapid transit plan was abandoned after about eight years of planning, and the ~$82.7m consultant spend became a prominent example of money spent without building. Wellington was left to restart transport planning around individual roading projects.

Auckland Regional Fuel Tax

Axed to save motorists a few dollars a tank — leaving a transport funding hole.

National-led scrapped Labour's
Whose ideaLabour / Auckland Council(from 1 July 2018)Cancelled byNational-led coalitionended 30 Jun 2024verify
~$780mraised, then axed

The 11.5c/litre tax raised roughly $150-170m a year and about $780m in total by ~September 2023, of which about $341m remained unspent when the scheme was wound up. Removing it saved motorists roughly $5-9 per tank.

What happened

The Auckland Regional Fuel Tax, enabled by Labour and levied by Auckland Council from 1 July 2018, funded Auckland transport projects. Scrapping it was a National-led coalition commitment; Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced the end on 8 February 2024 and the tax ended 30 June 2024.

Where it is now

Abolished and not revived. The ~$341m of unspent funds was ring-fenced for agreed projects including the Eastern Busway and City Rail Link trains and stabling.

The consequences

Auckland lost an ongoing revenue stream of roughly $150m+ a year. Mayor Wayne Brown warned of an approximately $1.2b transport funding shortfall over four years, and a range of smaller projects — cycleways, bus lanes, safety works — lost their funding source.

and then it came back

This was the second time the idea was ping-ponged: Labour first enabled an Auckland regional fuel tax in 2008, National scrapped it in 2009 before a cent was collected, Labour revived it in 2018, and National scrapped it again in 2024.

Māori Health Authority (Te Aka Whai Ora)

Stood up, then wound down two years later — with the Waitangi Tribunal critical of the rush.

National-led scrapped Labour's
Whose ideaLabour(began operating July 2022)Cancelled byNational-led coalitiondisestablished 30 Jun 2024verify
~$22m+to establish, then absorbed

Set up with an initial $22m (Budget 2021) for commissioning capability, and allocated on the order of $188m in Budget 2022 to commission Māori health services. On disestablishment the commissioning function and budget moved into Health New Zealand. No clean standalone wind-down cost was publicly reported.

What happened

Te Aka Whai Ora was established under Labour's Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022 and began operating on 1 July 2022. Abolition was in the coalition agreements; the disestablishment legislation passed under urgency on 28 February 2024 and the authority was formally wound up on 30 June 2024.

Where it is now

Disestablished; functions and staff absorbed into the Ministry of Health and Health New Zealand, with a greater role for iwi-Māori partnership boards. There is no standalone national Māori health authority.

The consequences

A Waitangi Tribunal urgent inquiry found the Crown breached Treaty principles and was critical of the rushed process and lack of consultation, and a High Court challenge followed. Government advice acknowledged there was no fully developed alternative plan to address Māori health inequities at the time of disestablishment. Two years of standing up an agency were reversed.

Charter Schools / Partnership Schools

Set up, abolished, then rebuilt from scratch — the textbook policy ping-pong.

Axed & revived repeatedly
Whose ideaACT / National(law 2012, first schools 2014)Cancelled byLabour-led governmentabolished 2018verify
$153mto rebuild them (Budget 2024)

The National-ACT government allocated $153m from Budget 2024 to convert 35 state schools into charter schools and establish 15 new ones over 2025-26 — rebuilding a model that had been dismantled just six years earlier. A single figure for total spend on the original 2014-18 round was not verified.

What happened

Charter (Partnership) Schools were an ACT policy adopted by the National-led government, with enabling law in 2012 and the first schools opening in 2014. The Labour-led government abolished the model in 2018, transitioning the remaining schools to state or state-integrated status. The National-ACT-NZ First coalition reinstated charter schools, with legislation passing on 25 September 2024.

Where it is now

Reinstated. Around eight charter schools opened in early 2025 with more planned for 2026, overseen by a new Charter School Agency. Labour and the Greens have signalled they oppose the model.

The consequences

Schools set up under National (2014) were forced to convert under Labour (2018), then a new charter model was rebuilt under National-ACT (2024-25). The churn imposed transition and re-establishment costs, disrupted school communities twice, and created ongoing uncertainty for staff, students and operators.

and then it came back

This is the clearest ping-pong of all: created, abolished and recreated across three governments in a decade — and Labour and the Greens have signalled they would unwind it again.

National Standards in schools

Not every reversal costs millions — some just undo the last lot's system.

Labour-led scrapped National's
Whose ideaNational(introduced 2010)Cancelled byLabour-led governmentDec 2017verify

What happened

National Standards, introduced by National in 2010, required primary schools to assess and report to parents on each child's progress in reading, writing and maths against national benchmarks. As part of its first-100-days pledge, the Labour-led government scrapped the requirement in December 2017, effective from the 2018 school year, and later removed it from statute.

Where it is now

Remains scrapped. National did not formally re-legislate it on returning to office, though the National-led government's 2024-25 curriculum changes reintroduced structured, regular assessment and reporting — described by some critics as 'national standards by stealth', but not a straight revival.

The consequences

Ended a nationwide comparable-reporting regime that unions had criticised for 'teaching to the test'. Its removal left a gap in standardised progress data that later governments have tried to fill differently, feeding the ongoing debate over how to measure declining literacy and numeracy. Unlike the roading projects, the cost here was administrative rather than a discrete sunk build cost.

National's 2017 tax cuts (the 'Family Incomes Package')

Legislated to start on 1 April 2018 — cancelled by the incoming government before a single pay packet changed.

Labour-led scrapped National's
Whose ideaNational(Budget 2017)Cancelled byLabour-led government14 Dec 2017verify
$8.36bin tax cuts reversed (5-yr)

National's package raised the bottom two tax thresholds from 1 April 2018. The incoming Labour government cancelled it in its December 2017 mini-budget before it took effect — reversing about $8.36b of tax cuts over five years (Treasury) and redirecting the money into its ~$5.53b Families Package (Working for Families, Winter Energy Payment, Best Start). No money was 'spent' — this is a reversal.

What happened

National's 2017 Family Incomes Package (Finance Minister Steven Joyce) legislated income-tax threshold increases worth roughly $1,000 a year to many earners, due to take effect 1 April 2018. The incoming Labour-led government announced on 14 December 2017 that it would scrap the cuts and redirect the money to targeted support for families.

Where it is now

The 2018 National thresholds were never implemented. The Families Package framework continued; the later National-led coalition legislated its own separate threshold changes from 31 July 2024.

The consequences

Higher earners did not receive the legislated tax reduction; instead lower-to-middle-income families with children and superannuitants received targeted transfers. It reframed the debate as 'broad tax cuts vs targeted family support' and was a defining early act of the Ardern government.

Three Strikes sentencing law

In, out, back in — a sentencing regime that has bounced between governments for 15 years.

Axed & revived repeatedly
Whose ideaNational & ACT(2010)Cancelled byLabour-led governmentrepealed 9 Aug 2022verify

What happened

The Three Strikes law (Sentencing and Parole Reform Act 2010) imposed escalating mandatory penalties for repeat serious violent and sexual offending. It was a National-ACT policy. The Labour government repealed it on 9 August 2022, citing a Ministry of Justice review that found no evidence it reduced serious offending and that it fell heavily on Māori.

Where it is now

Reinstated. The National-led coalition passed the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Act 2024, in force from 17 June 2025, this time with an added judicial 'manifestly unjust' discretion.

The consequences

The Ministry of Justice found the original law did not reduce crime while contributing to prison-population growth, and it applied disproportionately to Māori — who were around 18 times more likely to receive a second-strike sentence, and received roughly 82% of third-strike sentences. The reinstated version adds discretion intended to address the most disproportionate outcomes.

and then it came back

Reinstated by the National-led coalition via the 2024 Act (in force 17 June 2025) — cancelled by one government, brought back by the next.

R&D Tax Credit

Introduced, scrapped after one year, then reintroduced a decade later — near-identical policy, opposite parties.

Axed & revived repeatedly
Whose ideaLabour(Budget 2007)Cancelled byNational-led governmentDec 2008verify

What happened

Labour introduced a 15% tax credit on eligible research and development from the 2008-09 income year. The incoming National government repealed it (Taxation (Urgent Measures and Annual Rates) Act 2008) from 2009-10 — so it applied for a single year — preferring broad tax cuts and grant-based support instead.

Where it is now

Reintroduced. The Labour government launched the R&D Tax Incentive — again a 15% credit — from the 2019-20 income year, and it remains in force in 2025-26.

The consequences

For the decade in between, business R&D support ran mainly through contestable Callaghan Innovation grants rather than a broad credit. The stop-start — a credit for one year, removed, then a differently-designed credit ten years later — is a frequently-cited example of the policy instability that complicates long-horizon business investment.

and then it came back

Reintroduced by the Labour government in 2019 as the R&D Tax Incentive — the same 15% idea National had scrapped in 2008.

Social investment approach

Bill English's data-driven flagship — shelved by Labour, rebuilt by National.

Axed & revived repeatedly
Whose ideaNational (Bill English)(2015-17)Cancelled byLabour-led governmentwound back 2018-20verify

What happened

'Social investment' — using actuarial data to target early intervention at those with the highest lifetime cost to the state — was Bill English's signature approach, with a Social Investment Agency operating from 2017. The Labour government deprioritised the framing after 2017 and rebranded the agency as the Social Wellbeing Agency in 2020, treating data as one input among many.

Where it is now

Revived and expanded. The National-led coalition re-established a standalone Social Investment Agency from 1 July 2024 and a Social Investment Fund (investing from 2025), with Nicola Willis as Social Investment Minister.

The consequences

Between 2018 and 2023 the emphasis shifted from targeting individuals by actuarial cost toward broader wellbeing; from 2024 the coalition returned to data-driven targeting. Each swing meant agencies, contracts and commissioning models were reshaped around the government of the day, with ongoing debate about the ethics of using data to target disadvantaged individuals.

and then it came back

Revived by the National-led coalition in 2024 — reverting to the original name and data-driven focus. A clear three-government ping-pong (National → Labour → National).

Better Public Services targets

Scrapped as 'perverse' by one government, reinvented as essential by the next.

Labour-led scrapped National's
Whose ideaNational(2012)Cancelled byLabour-led government2018verify

What happened

National launched Better Public Services in 2012 — ten cross-agency 'result' targets (cutting long-term benefit numbers and youth crime, lifting immunisation and NCEA achievement, and more). The Labour-led government announced in 2018 the programme 'would not continue in this form', preferring systemic measures such as child-poverty targets.

Where it is now

The original targets were discontinued and archived. The concept then bounced back: the National-led coalition reintroduced a set of nine government targets in 2024.

The consequences

Removing the headline metrics reignited a long-running argument: Bill English warned it would produce 'dumb and lazy government', while Labour argued single-point targets created perverse incentives. The 2024 reintroduction of targets shows the approach itself returned — the churn is over the framework, not just the numbers.

and then it came back

The target regime was revived by the National-led coalition in 2024 with nine new government targets.

KiwiSaver's original incentives

The retirement-savings scheme survived — but the incentives that launched it were cut within two years.

National-led scrapped Labour's
Whose ideaLabour(2007)Cancelled byNational-led governmentfrom 1 Apr 2009verify

What happened

Labour launched KiwiSaver in 2007 with generous incentives — a $1,000 kick-start, a matching member tax credit, an employer tax credit, a fee subsidy, and compulsory employer contributions set to rise to 4%. From 1 April 2009 the incoming National government cut them back: the minimum contribution dropped from 4% to 2%, employer contributions were capped at 2%, the employer tax credit was abolished and the fee subsidy removed. (Government was spending over $1b a year on KiwiSaver subsidies at the time.)

Where it is now

KiwiSaver itself continues, but Labour's original settings were never restored — and were trimmed further later (the member tax credit was halved in 2011 and the $1,000 kick-start abolished in 2015).

The consequences

The changes lowered both the default savings rate and the state and employer top-ups new members received, reducing projected retirement balances relative to the scheme Labour designed. Auto-enrolment kept uptake high, but per-member government support is far smaller than at launch.

Biofuel Sales Obligation

A biofuel mandate repealed under urgency about two months after it began.

National-led scrapped Labour's
Whose ideaLabour(Oct 2008)Cancelled byNational-led governmentrepealed 23 Dec 2008verify

What happened

Labour's Biofuel Sales Obligation, in force from October 2008, required fuel suppliers to source a rising share of petrol and diesel from biofuels. The incoming National government repealed it under urgency, effective 23 December 2008 — about two months after it began — with Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee arguing it would load uncertain costs on motorists and risk importing unsustainable biofuel.

Where it is now

The 2008 mandate stayed repealed. (Labour later introduced a new Sustainable Biofuels Obligation around 2022, which the National-led government scrapped again in early 2023 — a separate, later episode.)

The consequences

New Zealand had no compulsory biofuel content in transport fuels for over a decade, leaving transport-emissions cuts to other mechanisms and ending the nascent domestic biofuel-blending obligation almost as soon as it began.