Written questions

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What papers, if any, did the Minister take to Cabinet during the week beginning 7 September 2026, by title and date?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

What aides-mémoire, briefings, memos, notes, reports, or any other advice, if any, has the Minister or their Office received during the week beginning 7 September 2026, listed by agency, title and date received?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the reply to written question 37933 (2026), does the total of 11 contracts awarded without open advertisement include the engagement of Beca Ltd, which the reply to written question 35240 (2026) states was undertaken through a…

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the replies to written questions 37933 (2026) and 35241 (2026), how is the stated total of NZD 2,361,636 for contracts awarded without open advertisement consistent with the total contract value of $3,401,000 for Beca Ltd alone?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the replies to written questions 37933 (2026) and 37932 (2026), does the total of 11 contracts include the shipbuilding contract; if not, on what basis is a closed tender process treated as open advertisement for the purposes of…

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the reply to written question 37933 (2026), will he provide the 11 contracts broken down by supplier, date of award, value, and the ground in Appendix 2 of the Government Procurement Rules relied on in each case; if not, why not?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the reply to written question 37934 (2026), on how many occasions since 1 April 2025 has each individual ground in Appendix 2 been relied on, broken down by ground?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the replies to written questions 37934 (2026), 37231 (2026) and 35236 (2026), where in the Government Procurement Rules does the phrase "a fair basis" appear as a ground for exemption from open advertising?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the replies to written questions 37231 (2026) and 35236 (2026), where in the Government Procurement Rules does the "fair basis" test appear; if it does not, what is the source of that standard and who applied it?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the reply to written question 35239 (2026), what was the date and value of each of the three variations to Beca Ltd's contract, and who approved each variation?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the replies to written questions 35239 (2026) and 37930 (2026), was each variation to Beca Ltd's contract approved within the delegated authority described in that reply; if not, by whom was it approved?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the replies to written questions 35238 (2026) and 35239 (2026), did Mr Lowe recuse himself from board consideration of each of the three variations, as distinct from the original engagement?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the reply to written question 35712 (2026), on what date did Mr Lowe's part-time advisory role with Beca commence, is that role current, and is it remunerated?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the reply to written question 35712 (2026), which divisions or business units of Beca does Mr Lowe's advisory role cover, and who verified that it excludes the New Zealand infrastructure market?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the reply to written question 35713 (2026), was the expectation that Mr Lowe would recuse himself recorded in writing at the time of his appointment; if so, in what document?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the replies to written questions 37881 (2026) and 35239 (2026), given that the number of variations to Beca Ltd's contract was disclosed in the latter, on what basis is the number of variations across all Ferry Holdings Ltd…

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the reply to written question 37929 (2026), how many procurements has Ferry Holdings Ltd undertaken since 5 March 2025, and to what total value, in the absence of a board-approved procurement policy?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the reply to written question 37929 (2026), on what date is the procurement policy expected to be approved by the board, and how long has it been in draft?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the replies to written questions 37930 (2026) and 37929 (2026), under what instrument were the delegated authorities for approving exemptions established, on what date was that instrument adopted, and by whom, given that no…

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the reply to written question 37930 (2026), how many exemptions from open advertising have been approved since 1 April 2025 under each of the three delegation tiers described?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the replies to written questions 37920 (2026) and 37922 (2026), how is he able to state that the contract with Esby & Co is under $100,000 while also stating that he does not hold information on its value?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the reply to written question 37919 (2026), what limits, if any, apply to Esby & Co's access to Ferry Holdings Ltd's procurement files, board papers and staff, and who set those limits?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the reply to written question 37922 (2026), who approved the engagement of Esby & Co, and was that approval given under the Chief Executive's delegation described in the reply to written question 37930 (2026)?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the reply to written question 37921 (2026), what conflict of interest declarations were obtained from Esby & Co or its personnel before its engagement?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the replies to written questions 37905 (2026) and 37240 (2026), if no board resolution recorded the decision to commence the review, what record exists of the board having taken that decision on 11 May 2026?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the reply to written question 37913 (2026), who decided to exclude the shipbuilding contract from the scope of the review, on what date, and for what reason?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the replies to written questions 37913 (2026) and 37239 (2026), why was a review commenced for best practice reasons and unprompted by any complaint or finding scoped as a targeted review rather than a general one?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the reply to written question 37910 (2026), on what date did Ferry Holdings Ltd receive the draft review findings, and on what date does he expect to receive the report?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the replies to written questions 37917 (2026) and 37915 (2026), given that no claim of legal professional privilege is made, will Ferry Holdings Ltd proactively publish the terms of reference immediately upon conclusion of the…

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the replies to written questions 37885 (2026) and 37910 (2026), given that draft findings now exist, will he request a copy of the terms of reference and the draft findings; if not, why not?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the replies to written questions 37891 (2026) and 37238 (2026), if his office maintains no record of contacts with the Chair of Ferry Holdings Ltd, what is the basis for the statement that the Chair "is in regular contact with…

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the reply to written question 35234 (2026), what is the title of the Treasury advice received on 6 November 2025 that referred to the Government Procurement Rules?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the reply to written question 35234 (2026), what did the Treasury advice of 6 November 2025 say regarding Ferry Holdings Ltd's compliance with the Government Procurement Rules?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the reply to written question 37936 (2026), on what date was the assurance from the Ferry Holdings Ltd board given, in what form, and to whom?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the replies to written questions 37888 (2026) and 35236 (2026), has the reply to written question 35236 (2026) been amended or corrected to reflect that he now holds this information; if not, why not?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the replies to written questions 37936 (2026) and 37240 (2026), was that assurance given before or after the board commenced its review of procurement practices on 11 May 2026?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

Further to the reply to written question 37888 (2026), who requested the table of procurement provided to his office on 21 August 2026, and for what purpose?

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?