The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi is slamming the Government for failing to show any leadership on infrastructure delivery after they revealed today that they have no plan to replace the Cook Strait ferries a year on from their decision to cancel the iReX project.
“Today’s announcement by the Minister of Finance shows why New Zealanders shouldn’t trust this Government on infrastructure – despite wasting huge amounts of money and time, they still have no coherent plan to replace the Cook Strait ferries,” said Acting NZCTU President Rachel Mackintosh.
“It has been a year since the Government cancelled the existing contract and we know little more now than we did then. We have no information on where the replacement ferries are coming from, how much they will cost, who will pay for them, or how the port infrastructure will be delivered. We don’t know how much it will cost to cancel the existing order.
“New Zealand had contracts for ships that had been set to arrive in February 2026 and September 2026. We are now planning on having ships possibly arrive sometime in 2029.
“The ferries are reaching the end of their service life, and all we have been given is another working group. The original project should never have been cancelled.
“Crucially, it now appears as if the decision has been made to take rail-enabled ships off the table. The Government is now talking about being “rail compatible”. This will mean using lorries to put freight on and off ferries. This will take longer, is less efficient, will raise costs for users, and will likely increase emissions.
“The Government announcement also appears to indicate that they are keen to privatise the service, stating that they are open to proposals from the private sector. This would likely mean that a private entity will take profit out of a service currently being run by government.
“Workers on the Cook Strait ferries, service users, and New Zealanders all deserve better than this. This is a plan to have a plan at some point in the future. What is needed is action,” said Mackintosh.