31904 (2026). Hon Ginny Andersen to the Minister of Transport

31904 (2026). Hon Ginny Andersen to the Minister of Transport: What is the performance of officials against the progressive procurement expectations set out in the Government Procurement Rules in relation to the RiverLink project in Lower Hutt, broken down by financial year, since 27 November 2023?

Hon Chris Bishop: Procurement undertaken by the RiverLink Melling Transport Improvements Alliance (the Alliance) is governed by the approved Alliance Procurement Management Plan. This includes a broader outcomes framework aligned with the Government Procurement Rules. These commitments are also embedded contractually through the Project Alliance Agreement’s Key Result Areas (KRA)/Key Performance Indicators (KPI) framework. The Alliance does not report performance specifically against the progressive procurement expectations in the Government Procurement Rules on a financial-year basis. Since execution of the Project Alliance Agreement in April 2025, the Alliance has tracked and reported monthly on: • the percentage of total project spend contracted to Mana Whenua, Matawaka and Pasifika businesses; and • the number of those businesses engaged. This KPI is reported to the Project Alliance Board and assessed annually as part of the Alliance’s overall performance score, which is linked to the Limb 3 financial performance mechanism. The 2025/26 KRA year is therefore the first formal reporting period under the Project Alliance Agreement. The Annual Performance Score for the KRA report is currently under review.