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National, Labour firing broadsides after Cook Strait ferry project founders
Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Labour finance spokesperson Grant Robertson are each pointing the finger after the Cook Strait ferry project was cancelled.
Willis in Parliament on Thursday made a Ministerial Statement ahead of Question Time, having announced the day before she had rejected a bid from KiwiRail for further funding for the project to replace the Interislander ferries.
KiwiRail had requested a further $1.47 billion, part of which had been agreed to in principle by the previous government, to address cost escalations related to harbourside infrastructure in Wellington and Picton including to accommodate new larger ferries.
The two new ferries would mean double the passenger and vehicle capacity and triple rail capacity, while reducing the carbon footprint by about 40 percent – with emissions reductions increasing in future with battery capacity and cleaner fuel upgrades.
The project was set to deliver them by 2026, but construction had not yet started on those – and KiwiRail on Wednesday confirmed the project would have to go back to the drawing board.
Willis’ statement in Parliament said refusing the funding had been a very difficult decision and the last thing they wanted to have to do but the costs had blown out and the project had “veered far away from its core purpose”.
She said KiwiRail had told her in late November of further blowouts, bringing the costs to about $3b, and only 21 percent of that related to “the core project of replacing ageing ferries”.
“It would be irresponsible for us to continue funding a project that has diverted so far in scope and cost from the original proposal.”
Robertson, however, argued it was KiwiRail that was to blame for the blowouts, saying the previous government had rejected a bid for more funding this year and was advised of a much lower level of risk.
Labour’s Grant Robertson Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
He pointed to a timeline released by Willis the day before, which noted KiwiRail’s assurance in October 2022 that “in a ‘worst case scenario’ the tagged contingency would need to increase by $280m”.
He noted the February 2023 bid for a further $2.6b – also highlighted in the timeline Willis released – had in fact been rejected by the government at the time.
The government later made the smaller offer – cancelled by the new government – because “we did believe that it was important that New Zealanders did have confidence that there would be an ongoing sustainable Cook Strait ferry network”.
“To clarify, the minister’s statement says that the project veered away from its core purpose when it hadn’t, the minister’s statement also says that the costs had blown out to $2.6b under the government’s watch when that money had not in fact been agreed.
He also argued the need to upgrade harbourside infrastructure had always been part of the plan, referring to a statement from Winston Peters – who at the time was part of government, in coalition with Labour – which hailed the jobs provided by “landside new terminal infrastructure including rail and vehicle marshalling yards”.
“The core purpose of the project agreed by the Labour Party and the New Zealand First Party,” Robertson said, “was for both the construction of new ferries and indeed portside infrastructure, as Mr Peters stated in his statement of the 27th of May 2020.”
Unions had called for Willis’ resignation over the cancellation of the extra funding, but she refused.
“No. If I was to resign there’d be 19 other Cabinet ministers behind me. This was a decision made by Cabinet, it was the right decision for New Zealand.”
She promised to provide further updates about the future of the ferry crossing before Christmas, reassuring people the government would be “working to ensure we have ongoing safe reliable ferry services and that we’ll make the investments needed to deal with that”.
“We will be a government that builds and delivers infrastructure. I will note when it comes to the ferry project nothing had been delivered … we’re going to make sure the reset is better conceived, it provides better value for money.”
The need for the new ferries has become more urgent after the Kaitaki lost power in Wellington harbour in January, drifting dangerously close to Red Rocks on the capital’s south coast in rough evening conditions.
Another, the Kaiārahi, also sustained damage during berthing last month with a metre-long hole ripped in the hull above the water line.
KiwiRail had spent $400 million but construction had not yet started on the new ships, and it will now wind up spending on the project.
VIA RNZ
The chief executive of the Parliamentary Service is confident there will be enough room to accommodate the increased number of MPs and their staff coming into Parliament.
On current numbers, up to 131 MPs could be sitting in the Chamber following the election, brought on by a record overhang result.
Clerk of the House of Representatives Dr David Wilson told the Spinoff that currently the debating chamber had enough chairs to seat 124 MPs – including the Speaker of the House – and work was being done to accommodate more by altering the seating arrangement.
In a statement, Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said planning for a larger Parliament had been going for “some time”.
“Now that the election results have confirmed an increase to the number of members we are looking at several options.
“We are confident we will be able to accommodate all members within the Chamber.”
VNP / Phil Smith
Gonzalez-Montero said office accommodation for members and their staff would be “stretched” for a short time, but the new Members’ Building was only a few months away from “practical completion”.
That building – located behind Parliament – was due to be ready to occupy in April next year and had capacity to accommodate around 30 backbench MPs.
“All members should be in fit-for-purpose accommodation from that point,” Gonzalez-Montero said.
Following the 2023 election, 123 MPs sat in the Chamber – a record number at the time. That decreased to 122 following the resignation of National MP Judith Collins.
Collins held the seat of Papakura and stepped down in May and Parliament voted against holding a by-election because it was too close to the election.
The election result also meant high-ranking National Party MPs like Chris Bishop, Paul Goldsmith, Nicola Willis and Gerry Brownlee – Speaker of the House and an MP for 30 years – would likely not make it back into Parliament.
Only resigning or retiring MPs were permitted to give a valedictory speech meaning none of them would get the chance to give a valedictory statement.
Asked if their would be special allowances for valedictories, Wilson said in a statement that normally only MPs were allowed to speak in the House but the House could suspend its own rules or temporarily alter them.
“It could do so to allow former members to address the House.”
Wilson said no such arrangements could be made until the next Parliament opened and members sworn in.
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