Port unions are calling for Lyttelton Port Company to pause its $821 million expansion, arguing a new parliamentary inquiry has reinforced serious concerns about major port investment, automation and worker consultation.

The Maritime Union of New Zealand and Rail and Maritime Transport Union say LPC and its parent company Christchurch City Holdings Limited are committing hundreds of millions of dollars to the project without enough public scrutiny.

Maritime Union Lyttelton Branch Secretary Gerard Loader said the scale of the investment demanded greater transparency.

“LPC and CCHL are telling the public to ‘trust us,’ but they haven’t earned that trust.”

The criticism follows the release of the Transport and Infrastructure Committee’s 55 page report into New Zealand’s ports and maritime sector.

The committee recommended that port companies rigorously test opportunities to improve the productivity and use of existing infrastructure before significant new capacity is funded.

It also said major infrastructure decisions should be assessed as part of an integrated freight system incorporating road, rail, coastal shipping, inland ports and other freight facilities.

Loader said workers had also been left in the dark over automation plans at Lyttelton. “We saw automation fail at Ports of Auckland, which cost tens of millions of dollars and put workers’ lives at risk. Workers’ livelihoods and safety are at stake here.”

The committee examined the failed Ports of Auckland automation project, which was abandoned in 2022 after $65 million in software was written off and another $16 million was spent converting equipment back to manual operation.

Its report found the project had suffered from serious shortcomings in governance, project management, procurement, risk assessment and organisational engagement.

The committee said automation could improve productivity and safety when properly implemented, but warned successful projects depended on strong governance, workforce engagement and effective delivery.

It also specifically recommended port companies actively involve workers and unions in decisions involving workplace practices, technology and automation.

Rail and Maritime Transport Union Lyttelton Port Branch Secretary Mark Wilson said the Lyttelton project should be considered in the context of the entire national freight network.

“This is short sighted and parochial management. Major decisions that affect entire communities are being made purely for short term profit.”

Wilson said work should be paused until wider consultation had taken place.

“This project will shape New Zealand for decades. LPC and CCHL must pause work until they consult openly with workers, mana whenua, Christchurch ratepayers, and the wider freight and logistics industry.”

The parliamentary inquiry found concerns across the industry about fragmented investment and ports making major decisions without enough consideration of the wider freight network.

It said ports, roads, rail, inland freight facilities and coastal shipping should increasingly be treated as parts of one national system.

The committee also recommended the Government develop a National Ports Strategy covering investment, resilience, coastal shipping, workforce issues, security and the future roles of individual ports.

Lyttelton was specifically identified as having a resilience vulnerability because the port relies on separate road and rail tunnels connecting it with the wider transport network.

The committee said disruption affecting those tunnels could cut the port off from the national land transport network.

The unions said the findings strengthened their case for greater scrutiny of LPC’s expansion before further major commitments were made.

Workers First and the port unions said major infrastructure decisions involving public assets should not proceed without clear evidence they represented the best option for Christchurch and the wider freight system.