It may have been delivered in his normal blustery, abrasive manner full of bizarre metaphor and mild incoherency, but at least we’ve finally got our answer re the Interislander Cook Strait ferry replacement … well part of it, for now at least.
Before I discuss the options presented, I do have to say Winston Peters forgets he’s addressing us, the voters, when delivering such announcements – not simply his old foes in the press gallery. A little less rude abruptness and a little more humility to those of the electorate might not go amiss. The truth is, we’ve largely lost any trust in the fourth estate to deliver a non-partisan account of anything, so just focusing on your actual audience might be good advice.
I say the decision has been made ‘for now’ because New Zealand party politics has taken on a distinctly US flavour in recent cycles, meaning an increasing ‘them-and-us’ flavour. What’s good for the nation appears to yield more and more to a ‘never the twain’ mentality – especially in one coalition corner.
In regard to the ferries however, should ‘Chippy’ – and whatever conglomeration he can cobble together – take the reins again in 2026, he’ll need to be careful indeed. The existing boats will be absolutely at the end of their safe operational life by then – think about that for a moment. A fleet of sovereign-owned ferries unable to be rescued in a storm from a stretch of water as lethal as Cook Strait will get that close to the end of a safe operational life due to governmental inertia and party politics.
From the moment Winston got involved in the ferry replacement project, anyone still harbouring thoughts of non-rail ferries being an option needed to give themselves an upper cut. I must admit, I am still hard to convince of the inherent efficiencies of handling freight multiple times, as is the case espoused as best practice according to a non-rail boat lobby.
We’re getting road/rail ferries almost midway between the current ships and the iReX boats in terms of size – the short odds were anyone one of us in and around the logistics industry probably could have nailed it.
It is good news we won’t be getting a “Taj Mahal” in Picton and a “Sydney Opera House” in Wellington. I’ve never seen either of those installations acting as an inter-island transit terminal for roll-on/roll-off shipping … that’s a plus then. Much of the cost in the iReX boats was the infrastructure needed to accommodate them at either end. The new ones must be just at the size sweet spot, admittedly requiring significant work at the Picton end, but only modest alterations in Wellington. No new terminal buildings though.
Many questions weren’t answered in the announcement – crossing time improvements, bad weather capability, rescue capability provisions (every practicable step?), emissions targets… There’s a list. But, oh yes, we did learn “they will get you, your family, the caravan, the dog,” across the Cook Strait. Cook Strait might not be shallow, but evidently the citizens of New Zealand are.
It’s now tenders, and construction. Rest assured, this story is far from over, fully understood, even agreed on. The normal Peter’s bluster was in part the deflection of a largely inadequate announcement. It smacked of ‘we promised to say something today’.
So far, the ferry replacement story has had plenty of drama and conflict, and there’s no assurance it won’t end without a touch of tragedy. In the event that’s the case, whoever fronts the microphone will need a little less hubris.
The most important thing to happen next, the number one task on the To Do list, is some assurance from the other side of the house that this latest Cook Strait ferry plan will hold. The truth is we can scoff all we like at the US and the apparent shortcomings of its people, but they can catch sections of a rocket returning from space with a giant pair of tweezers. We’re struggling to make our nation whole using boats!
All the best
Dave McCoid
Editorial Director
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Dave , I have to say you are spot on with your comments about Winston when he is addressing the media or even just the electorate as a whole. He seems to always have that giant chip on his shoulder and his only style of communication is to be abrasive , on the defensive and spoiling for a verbal fight.