A decision on the future of the Interislander ferry service could still be months away, despite regular issues with the ferries. File photo. Photo: KiwiRail
The coalition government has been considering advice on replacement options for the Interislander ferries for several months and it could be the end of the year before a decision is made.
But Finance Minister Nicola Willis says it would be "premature" to blame that on a difference of opinion amongst the three governing parties.
A project to replace the Interislander ferry fleet was cancelled by the government in December after it declined KiwiRail's request for further funding.
Two rail-enabled ferries were set to be delivered by 2026, but construction had not yet started, and a ministerial advisory group was tasked in February with coming up with an alternative plan.
Speaking to media at the prime minister's weekly post-Cabinet press conference today, Willis said a decision would be made on a replacement service by the end of this year.
Willis did not immediately answer questions about when Cabinet had received advice from the ministerial advisory group, saying she would come back to reporters.
However, the prime minister chipped in, saying it was received "a few months ago".
That prompted questions over whether New Zealand First was responsible for the delay in making a decision, with leader Winston Peters' public campaign for rail-enabled ferries.
Willis said it would be "wrong to characterise [Peters] as having expressed that as a bottom line".
Given a final Cabinet discussion and decision is yet to be made, she said it would be "premature to make an assessment" that the three governing parties were not aligned.
"We're continuing to take advice as ministers, ministers are all engaged in the process across the three parties in the coalition, and we are testing proposals and asking questions."
Willis said any hold-up was because "we're making sure we get this right - the last government didn't".
Interislander ferries, which are operated by KiwiRail, have been plagued by issues in recent months - most notably the grounding of the Aratere near Picton in June.
Leaked documents showed a crew member accidentally triggered the auto pilot into the wrong course, before it crashed into the shore.
Just last week the privately-owned Bluebridge ferry lost power heading into Cook Strait and drifted for more than two hours, with 88 people on board.
Asked by RNZ if the current ferry service is reliable, Willis said that was what the government is trying to achieve for the future.
"All of us worry when we see incidents like the one we did last week, and that there is enough capacity across ferries on the Strait that we can withstand those sorts of events," Willis said.
"We also want to see safe passage and that's firstly a question for Maritime NZ."
Both KiwiRail and Bluebridge have data to prove "most of the time there are ferry crossings that are going each day", she told RNZ.
