Prime Minister Christopher Luxon fields question from media over Cook Strait ferries announcement.
Analysis by Georgina Campbell
Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.
It never got to the table at that date as “discussions with ministers were ongoing”.
Soon after, Winston Peters was appointed Minister for Rail and is now in charge of delivering the new ferries.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis had a paper ready to take to Cabinet to procure two new Cook Strait ferries but it was scuppered before it could be formally considered.
Documents released to the Herald under the Official Information Act show Willis had requested speaking points from Treasuryin November last year for an upcoming ferry procurement Cabinet paper.
“On Monday, November 11, 2024, Cabinet is considering your paper seeking approval to commence procurement of two new Cook Strait ferries and to establish a new Crown company to lead that procurement,” Treasury officials said.
A spokesman for Willis said the paper did not go to Cabinet on that date as “discussions with ministers were ongoing”.
Ten days after that scheduled Cabinet meeting, soon-to-be Minister for Rail Winston Peters piped up and publicly set a deadline for a decision on the future of Interislander’s ageing ferry fleet.
Answering questions on behalf of the Prime Minister in the House, Peters, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister, said the Government would decide on the ferries by December 11.
“It was always on the 11th of December or before so, we haven’t pushed any date out at all.”
Winston Peters is now the Minister for Rail and in charge of delivering Interislander's new Cook Strait ferries.
On December 11, the Government announced it would establish a Schedule 4A company called Ferry Holdings to procure the two medium-sized, rail-compatible ferries Willis had planned.
The Government also invited the private sector to submit alternative proposals for a ferry service, which will be assessed alongside the procurement process in March.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon also announced Peters would take over the responsibility of delivering the new ferries and appointed him Minister for Rail.
Peters essentially said he was going back to the drawing board to find a better plan than Willis'.
Willis referenced her plan at that time, which as it turns out was just days away from going to Cabinet at one point in November, and said: “I’ve delivered. I’ve discharged my duty to New Zealand.”
She said that if Peters did not come up with something else, she could look New Zealanders in the eye and be confident there was a plan to have safe and reliable ferry crossings.
Whether the ferries should be rail-enabled was a clear sticking point.
Peters said rail-enabled ferries should be in the mix and described at great length the importance of rail in New Zealand.
The ferry paper that eventually made it to Cabinet in December described at great length that ministers had been advised: “the Auckland to Christchurch rail freight service would be resilient and reliable with non-rail-enabled ferries”.
The infrastructure required to support the rail-enabled mega-ferries has been blamed for the exponential cost escalation of the now cancelled iRex project.
The November 11 Cabinet meeting marks a clear shift of power in the ferry saga.
However, rumblings of disagreement between coalition partners were evident well before this.
In September, when told the Government appeared to be leaning towards non-rail-enabled ferries, Peters responded: “Who said that’s going to happen? Let’s see what happens in the end.”
Interislander's fleet of three ferries is ageing and needs to be replaced. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Asked whether he would prefer rail-enabled ferries, Peters said: “Well, of course I would. Because for 100 years that’s what we’ve been planning to do.”
Asked if it was a bottom line, Peters said: “We don’t have bottom lines like you do – this isn’t our first rodeo.”
In October, Peters said at his party’s conference that he wouldn’t speculate on when the Government should fund new ferries, directing questions to the minister responsible, Willis.
“I think you should go and ask the minister, I’m not in charge of it. Or you could perhaps ask the minister why I’m not in charge of it, somebody with a proven record.”
This year, the Government has been working to narrow the list of potential shipbuilders for new Cook Strait ferries so a deal can be struck swiftly when ministers agree on the type of vessels they want.
Ministers are expected to take a paper to Cabinet this month outlining which shipyards expressed interest in building the new ships.
Cabinet is also expected to receive an update on alternative proposals at this time and decide whether to proceed with any of those ideas.
A final decision will then be made on the overall approach to procurement.
Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.
