The future of our Interislander ferries and the political risk Nicola Willis faces - The Front Page

Finance Minister Nicola Willis says the Government would not be funding the purchase of new Interislander ferries. Photos / Mark Mitchell

The future of the Interislander Cook Strait ferries remains in limbo after Finance Minister Nicola Willis refused to commit another $1.47 billion to replace the fleet with mega ferries and build the associated portside infrastructure (the iRex project).

The Government is setting up an expert advisory group to provide independent assurance on how to proceed with the ferry service.

The uncertain future for this vital supply chain connection comes a year after the Kaitaki ferry lost power in the middle of Cook Strait with 864 people on board and declared a mayday when it started drifting towards Wellington’s rocky south coast.

Speaking to The Front Page, the Herald’s daily news podcast, Maritime Union of New Zealand national secretary Craig Harrison said it was a very serious situation that could have ended badly if the ship became grounded and hit the rocks.

“I was dumbfounded to hear that something owned by KiwiRail could fail in such a catastrophic way.”

Ferry unions have called for Willis’ resignation, saying such a major decision with massive implications for the economy and New Zealand’s supply chain should not have been made in such a “fast and loose” manner.

BusinessDesk infrastructure editor Oliver Lewis said there is a lot of political risk tied to the Finance Minister’s decision.

“If there are other further major incidents on the Cook Strait, I think that this Government will essentially wear the consequences of that politically, given what they’ve done with the iRex project.”

Lewis said it was a tricky balance to strike, which was why Willis and Minister for State-Owned Enterprises Paul Goldsmith have tried to talk up their understanding of the need for a safe and resilient connection.

“But without funding and a very clear path forward, we are left in a bit of a limbo and we don’t know what it is going to look like in coming years,” Lewis said.

“So yes, there’s always the chance of another major catastrophe because we always run down our infrastructure and never reinvest.”

Until a solution is found, the existing fleet will increasingly be out of service and cost more to maintain as the ferries reach the end of their working life, Lewis said.

“If we just continue down this track, we’ll see more cancelled sailings, more delays, more maintenance and more cost to continue to operate those ferries.”

Listen to the full episode to hear more from Craig Harrison and Oliver Lewis about options the Government and KiwiRail could consider for the future of the Interislander fleet.

The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. This episode was presented by Georgina Campbell, 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.

You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.