Slow Government decision-making on ferries starts to make iRex look good – Editorial

Finance Minister Nicola Willis (inset) scrapped the iRex project after KiwiRail asked for a further $1.47b. Photos / Mark Mitchell

EDITORIAL

To make a project billions of dollars over budget and mired in controversy look good is no mean feat.

Yet the longer this coalition Government takes to decide on a plan to replace Interislander’s ageing ferries, the better the old one’s starting to look.

Even with the eye-watering price tag, at least last year there was a plan.

KiwiRail unveiled its business case to replace the three current ferries with two new rail-enabled mega ferries in 2018. At the time, the total cost for the project dubbed iRex – including the new ferries and portside infrastructure – was $775 million.

Six years later, the cost had blown out to $3 billion. A new Government was in charge, and new Finance Minister Nicola Willis said no more money.

On December 13, Willis issued a statement saying the Government had declined KiwiRail’s request for an extra $1.47b for portside infrastructure.

Willis was strong, resolute. A better, more affordable option could be found to safeguard a vital link between our two islands.

A ministerial advisory group (Mag) was established to explore such options. It reported back to the Government – behind closed doors – in June.

So why, three months later, has a preferred option still not been presented to Cabinet?

There have been signs along the way things haven’t been running smoothly. In fact, June seems to have been quite an eventful month.

The Aratere dramatically ran aground near Picton that month, KiwiRail board chairman David McLean announced his surprise early retirement, and Willis started talking about the current ferry fleet being all good to last us until 2029.

On July 1, Willis told Newstalk ZB’s Heather du Plessis-Allan the public would “find out about the ferries once ministers have made decisions”.

“I expect that will be within the quarter,” she said. The quarter that began on July 1 finishes at the end of September. Next Monday.

The Herald then asked State Owned Enterprises Minister Paul Goldsmith whether there would be a decision this quarter.

Goldsmith wouldn’t give an indication when a decision would be made – he wouldn’t even commit to making a decision this year.

Willis said this week it would be by the end of the year.

Perhaps the situation is proving more difficult than Willis anticipated. Not because of the complexities of ferry travel across the tricky Cook Strait, but because of the “three-headed” Government.

Any decision will have to be agreed by all three coalition parties. Three parties with different views on KiwiRail and the types of ferries needed; most notably New Zealand First with its preference for rail-enabled ferries.

On Monday, Willis was asked directly whether NZ First was the cause of the hold-up.

She said: “We’re continuing to take advice as ministers, ministers are all engaged in the process across the three parties in the coalition. They are testing proposals, asking questions, making sure that the decisions we make are based on good information and advice.”

Asked whether the coalition partners were aligned, Willis said: “We haven’t had a final Cabinet discussion so it would be premature to make any assessment”.

The iRex project became hard to defend with its continuous budget blowouts. But if we’re now comparing a ferry replacement plan that was agreed upon and started with a coalition Government seemingly struggling to even reach agreement, the former starts to regain its appeal.

Willis will be hoping that decision is, indeed, made before Christmas.

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