Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is joining Newstalk ZB’s Kerre Woodham in studio this morning on the back of one of the coalition Government’s more challenging weeks in office.
For the next hour, Luxon will be taking questions from talkback callers for the final time this year. It will be livestreamed at the top of this article.
On Wednesday, the Government revealed the next steps for replacing the ageing Interislander ferries but failed to answer key questions that have been looming since December 2023, when the coalition scrapped Labour’s project iRex.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis and newly appointed Minister for Rail Winston Peters revealed the Government would establish a new schedule 4a Crown company to procure two new ferries to begin service by 2029.
The biggest questions are how much the total project will cost and whether the ferries will be “rail-enabled”, meaning trains can drive on and off the ships and avoid the need for costly and slow transferring of freight from trains to boats.
The Government says ferries will be “rail-capable” but not necessarily rail-enabled and has agreed a funding envelope for the project, but will not say what it is, citing commercial sensitivity.
Luxon defended his Government’s handling of the Interislander ferries, saying they’ve found a “great solution” to replace KiwiRail’s ageing ships.
Luxon says Peters has until March to find a better solution to what the Government has pitched under the direction of Willis.
But Peters appears to be starting again from scratch, telling the Herald “everything should be in the mix” as he considers options ahead of a final decision.
Meanwhile, the Herald last night revealed that the second-most powerful police officer in the country, Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming, has been on leave for several weeks, pending separate investigations by the Independent Police Conduct Authority and the New Zealand Police.
The nature of the allegations against McSkimming cannot be reported.
Police Minister Mark Mitchell said in a statement: “While investigations are under way, it would be inappropriate to comment.”
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