What advice, if any, has the Minister received regarding any proposed merger of their department, agency, crown entity or any other body that they are responsible for, if any, listed by title and date?

Answer

The entities for which the Minister for Rail is a shareholder are operationally independent. Ferry Holdings is a delivery entity for Cabinet's no-nonsense ferry replacement programme and is established under section 4 of the Public Finance Act. KiwiRail, by contrast, is a State Owned Enterprise and commercially sensitive merger proposals can be relieved from time to time directly by that company, through the National Infrastructure Funding and Financing Company, or the Treasury. Merger proposals are by their nature commercially sensitive, and in any case no merger has occurred within the Rail portfolio during this term of parliament.