Ministers defend scrapping KiwiRail mega ferries, reveal last trips across Cook Strait

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon hasn’t been on a Cook Strait ferry since he was a kid but Finance Minister Nicola Willis has been more recently and reported the trip went down without a hitch.

The experience of cruising on the Interislander is in the spotlight after a horror year for the fleet in 2023.

It started with a mayday call in the middle of Cook Strait causing mass cancellations and ended with the Government scuppering what had become an eyewatering $3 billion plan to replace the increasingly unreliable fleet with two new mega ferries.

KiwiRail has suggested the contract to build the mega ferries could be salvaged and the new ships sold at a profit instead. They also told a select committee last week there are only 22 second-hand ships in the world that would be suitable to replace the fleet and none of them are for sale.

But Willis pushed back today, saying she does not accept that and there are many options on the table.

Cruising on the Interislander

Luxon said it has been a few decades since he last took a trip on one of the ferries.

“The fastest way for me to get to the South Island, back home to Christchurch, is often by aeroplane.”

Transport Minister Simeon Brown can’t remember the last time he was on an Interislander ferry, saying it would have been years ago.

Asked whether he was confident the existing ferries would see the country through until they could be replaced, Brown said: “I get advice on these matters. The fact that I haven’t necessarily been on the ferry is a different issue.”

Transport Minister Simeon Brown can’t remember the last time he was on an Interislander ferry, saying it would have been years ago. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Minister for State Owned Enterprises Paul Goldsmith said it was a “few years back now” that he caught the Interislander but reported it was fantastic.

Willis crossed Cook Strait with her family in the last couple of years and also said it was a good experience.

Questions about the reliability of the fleet were for KiwiRail as that was their responsibility, Willis said.

“I have confidence that they understand the expectations we have of them.”

Government defends scrapping mega ferries

Interislander’s current fleet of three ships is reaching the end of its working life but Willis feared she would be left with a “completely open chequebook” if she had agreed to pour more money into the mega-ferry project.

Willis said she did not accept KiwiRail’s comments there were just 22 second-hand ships in the world which would be suitable to replace the Interislander fleet.

“That depends on the specifications that they set. I think there are a number of options on the table.

“That’s why I’ve appointed a ministerial advisory group to give me independent advice about the full range of options New Zealand has for replacing the current ships and ensuring safe, reliable ferry services into the future.”

Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop, who was last on an Interislander ferry three years ago, said there was no question the existing fleet needed to be replaced.

“It’s just that the option that was proceeding under the last Government, as has been extensively canvassed, was extremely expensive and we didn’t have the confidence that it would be delivered.

“So, we’ve cancelled that project and ministers now go through a process alongside KiwiRail of rightsizing the project.”

Bishop said the independent advisory group was not given the option to consider keeping the mega ferry build contract because ministers have ruled that out.

KiwiRail has estimated the cost of the $551 million fixed-price contract signed with Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in 2021 could increase by up to 40 per cent if it was signed today.

Bishop said it was not a good proposition for the Government to buy the ferries and then sell them.

“That is not KiwiRail’s core business to buy and sell ferries for other people and hope that on the way through, we don’t lose money. That seems like a bad idea to me and it seemed like a bad idea to the Government.

“So, what we’re doing is going through a process with an advisory group to figure out what the next steps are and I think that’s a responsible course of action.”

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.