Written questions

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What is the NZ Transport Agency's forecast annual client-side cost of managing the Warkworth to Te Hana Project Agreement over the 25-year operational period referred to in Reply 34979 (2026), and how much of that cost is expected to be…

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Of the $42.8 million in technical services recorded in Reply 34451 (2026), what proportion relates to geotechnical investigation data that has been provided to the Northway consortium, and did the consortium pay any amount for that data or…

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

How much, if any, has the NZ Transport Agency spent on external professional services for the Alternative to the Brynderwyn Hills, including preparation of the statutory approvals application referred to in Reply 34402 (2026), broken down…

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What did the Northland Corridor investment case referred to in Reply 66207 (2024) cost to produce, broken down by NZ Transport Agency internal costs and external professional services, and which firms were engaged?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to Reply 34451 (2026), which recorded $27.7 million in legal services and advice for Warkworth to Te Hana, how much, if any, has the NZ Transport Agency spent on external legal services for the Te Hana to Port Marsden Highway and…

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to Reply 34402 (2026), which advised that no decision has been made on a procurement model for the sections beyond Warkworth to Te Hana, how much, if any, has the NZ Transport Agency spent or committed on external commercial,…

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

How much does the NZ Transport Agency expect to spend on external professional services for the Te Hana to Port Marsden Highway and Port Marsden Highway to Whangārei sections in each of 2026/27 and 2027/28, if any, and what proportion of…

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What amount, if any, has been spent on iReX-related wind-down activity since the settlement with Hyundai Mipo Dockyard was concluded in August 2025, and what did that expenditure relate to?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What is the total cost to the Crown of the cancellation and wind-down of Project iReX as at 30 June 2026, and does this figure differ from the $671 million reported by KiwiRail in August 2025; if so, why?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What was the total book value of materials, plant and equipment procured for Project iReX that were subsequently sold, scrapped or written off, and what amount, if any, was recovered through their sale?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What land, property, consents or design work, if any, was acquired or commissioned for Project iReX that is not being used in the current Cook Strait Ferry Replacement Programme, and what was the cost of each?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What has been the Interislander's total fleet maintenance expenditure in each of the 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What amount, if any, of expenditure on Project iReX has been capitalised into the current ferry replacement programme rather than written off, and what does that expenditure consist of?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What is the forecast Interislander fleet maintenance expenditure for each of the 2026/27, 2027/28 and 2028/29 financial years?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What was the total cost of the fleet life-extension programme recommended following the DNV assessment of the Interislander fleet, and how much of that has been spent to date?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What amount, if any, of Interislander maintenance expenditure since December 2023 would not have been required had the vessels ordered under Project iReX been delivered in 2025 and 2026 as originally scheduled?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What advice, if any, has the Minister received on the expected maintenance cost of the Interislander fleet in the event that the delivery of Kupe and Cook is delayed beyond 2029?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What has been the total cost of drydock and layby maintenance undertaken overseas for Interislander vessels since 1 January 2024, broken down by vessel and by location?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What is the annual cost of road-bridging rail freight across Cook Strait following the retirement of the Aratere, and how does this compare with the cost of carrying the same freight on a rail-enabled vessel?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What volume of rail freight, measured in net tonne kilometres or wagon equivalents, has been road-bridged across Cook Strait in each quarter since the Aratere was retired in August 2025?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What estimate, if any, has been made of the volume of freight that has permanently transferred from rail to road as a result of the loss of a rail-enabled Cook Strait vessel, and what is the estimated annual revenue impact on KiwiRail?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What assessment, if any, has been made of the additional heavy vehicle movements on State Highway 1 attributable to road-bridging of Cook Strait rail freight, and what is the estimated additional road maintenance cost?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What was the total cost of demolishing the Aratere's wharf in Picton, and what proceeds, if any, were received from the disposal of the Aratere itself?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

How many days has the Interislander operated a one-ship schedule in each calendar year since 2024, and how many days is it forecast to operate a one-ship schedule in each of 2026, 2027 and 2028?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What modelling, if any, has KiwiRail or Ferry Holdings undertaken on the volume of freight expected to move off Cook Strait during planned one-ship maintenance periods between 2026 and 2028, and what were the results?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What estimate, if any, has been made of the economic cost of reduced Cook Strait ferry capacity during planned maintenance periods between 2026 and 2028, including any estimate of lost productivity or supply chain cost?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

How many sailings were cancelled across the Interislander fleet in each of the 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years, and what was the estimated revenue impact of those cancellations?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What is the cost to KiwiRail of relaunching the NZ Connect coastal shipping service, and what freight volumes is it forecast to carry during the 2026 and 2027 maintenance periods?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What advice, if any, has the Minister received on the cost of leasing an additional vessel to operate on Cook Strait prior to 2029, and what was the estimated cost?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What is the current total forecast cost of the Cook Strait Ferry Replacement Programme, broken down by vessel construction, Wellington port infrastructure, Picton port infrastructure, programme management and contingency?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

How much of the $1.9 billion total programme cost for the ferry replacement programme is not counted within the $1.704 billion taxpayer contribution, and who bears each component of that difference?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What proportion, if any, of the $100 million contributed by CentrePort and the $110 million contributed by Port Marlborough is expected to be recovered through port fees paid by KiwiRail, and over what period?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What assessment, if any, has been made of the effect of port fees payable under the new arrangements on freight rates across Cook Strait, compared with fees payable under the current arrangements?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

On what basis is the claimed saving of approximately $2.3 billion against Project iReX calculated, including the assumed iReX total cost, the price basis or reference year used, and whether the figure is expressed in nominal or real terms?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What contingency is held within the $1.704 billion taxpayer contribution to the Cook Strait Ferry Replacement Programme, and how much of that contingency, if any, has been drawn down to date?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Which components of the Cook Strait Ferry Replacement Programme cost are based on long-range estimates rather than fixed or target outturn prices, and what is the combined value of those components?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What has been the total operating cost of Ferry Holdings Limited since its establishment in March 2025, broken down by financial year?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What was the total cost of the Ministerial Advisory Group on Cook Strait ferry options, including fees, secretariat and any external advice it commissioned?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What has been the total expenditure on external consultants and advisors relating to Cook Strait ferry procurement since December 2023, across KiwiRail, Ferry Holdings, the Ministry of Transport and the Treasury?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

How many Interislander staff positions, if any, were disestablished as a result of the transition from a three-ship to a two-ship fleet, and what was the total cost of redundancies paid?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What assessment, if any, has been made of the difference in freight and passenger capacity between the vessels ordered under Project iReX and the vessels Kupe and Cook, and what is the estimated effect on Cook Strait capacity over the…

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What reports or advice, if any, does the Minister hold on the total economic cost to New Zealand of reduced Cook Strait ferry capacity between 2024 and 2029, and what estimate for the total sum did that contain?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

Question

What is the number of patients who spent longer than 24 hours at Waikato Hospital’s Emergency Department broken down by month, from January 2026 to August 2026?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

Question

What is the number of patients at Waikato Hospital’s Emergency Department recorded as 'Did Not Wait' broken down by month, from January 2026 to August 2026?

Asked by

Mike Davidson

List MP · Green Party

Question

How many people, if any, have written to the Minister with a complaint about non-elected members on Council committees, between January 1 2026 and June 2 2026, by month?

Asked by

Mike Davidson

List MP · Green Party

Question

How many, if any, former sawmill workers exposed to pentachlorophenol have died while waiting for the Government to include exposure to it to the list of occupational diseases covered by the Accident Compensation Act?

Asked by

Ginny Andersen

List MP · Labour Party

Question

How many, if any, meals were thrown out by schools during the week of August 24th 2026?

Asked by

Ginny Andersen

List MP · Labour Party

Question

How many, if any, uneaten meals were collected at the end of the school day by an external supplier during the week of August 24th 2026?

Asked by

Ginny Andersen

List MP · Labour Party

Question

How much, if anything, was paid to an external supplier to collect uneaten meals during the week of August 24th 2026?

Asked by

Ginny Andersen

List MP · Labour Party

Question

How many, if any, investigations into meals provided to schools were opened during the week of August 24th 2026?