Interislander ferries update a political power play from Peters – Editorial

Editorial

Something has gone badly wrong for National to be ending the year with still no decision made about the future of Cook Strait travel.

Instead, a press conference held this week has raised more questions than answers about what is going to happen to secure a critical tourism and trade route.

The Government pulled the plug on Labour’s iRex project, including two new mega-ferries, in December last year after costs blew out to more than $3 billion.

In early July, Finance Minister Nicola Willis said the public would “find out about the ferries once ministers have made decisions” and she expected that to be within the quarter – effectively by the end of September.

Willis and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon then both said there would be a decision on the new plan to replace the ageing Interislander fleet by the end of this year.

Two weeks ago, Luxon said the Government “will have a full announcement” when asked if the total exit cost of cancelling iRex would be included in any update.

Fast forward to this week and such a statement is laughable.

Wednesday’s press conference was so far from a “full announcement”, it’s a wonder it was held at all. Apart from perhaps to please Winston Peters.

Our freshly crowned Minister of Rail was of course the one who set the date for such an update.

For those eagerly awaiting details, disappointment quickly set in, as it became clear the announcement was simply of another announcement to be made in March – and a plum new promotion for Peters.

We were told a new company is being set up to procure two new ferries, larger than Interislander’s current ones but smaller than the mega-ferries, which will begin operating in 2029.

And that’s about it. No costs, no confirmation of who will build the ships, no decision on whether they’ll be rail-enabled, no word on the portside infrastructure to support them. No word on the exit cost for cancelling iRex.

In fact, even the plan to buy two new ships might not come to pass if a private operator turns up with a better offer to take over the ferry service in the next three months.

It’s a tough sell for Willis, who’s been scathing of Labour’s handling of iRex, again having to ask the New Zealand public to trust a better solution is on the way with no solid proof.

Peters, on the other hand, looked absolutely in his element and is already styling himself as some kind of hero of the day.

He was desperate to get his pre-prepared quip out, interrupting a reporter’s question with: “Can I just say, in the words of the Little River Band – ‘Hang on, help is on its way’.”

He liked the line so much, he repeated it on social media platform X.

But if this was a real emergency situation in need of rescue, 12 months to simply deliver that message doesn’t instil much hope.

It’s clear coalition wranglings have delayed a decision and National has had to concede to both NZ First and Act in putting Peters in charge and opening the door to privatisation.

The winner of the day is undeniably Peters, who has successfully managed to place himself at the helm of future decision-making on a critical piece of national infrastructure.

Here’s hoping it’s smoother sailing now Peters has got what he wants.

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