Winston Peters: Rail Minister on the Cook Strait Ferry project coming in under budget

Minister for Rail Winston Peters believes the binned iRex ferry plan would have meant major infrastructure issues that are no longer a worry. 

He's announced the two new Interislander ferries are expected to come in on time and under budget, for less than $2 billion. 

Peters told Mike Hosking Tasmania is struggling with two new ferries and no infrastructure and he doesn't want to see the same problems here. 

He said he got a really hard-nosed, tough, experienced team to sort out the ferry plan, and they’ve done a marvellous job. 

“In less than 11 months they have put together a solution at all ends.” 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So we've got a fairy deal to new ships five
hundred and ninety six million, port infrastructure one point two billion.
They arrive in twenty nine. They're bigger than we currently have.
And for the environmentalists, their hybrids. Whinston Peters stitched together
the DEALI is with us.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Good morning, good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:13):
As an exercise, how competitive were the various punters in
this particular game. Was there a variation and price or not?

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Well, there were a number of teners, of course, and
in the end the best one and one best analyzed
to cover all the requirements we had was out of China.

Speaker 1 (00:33):
And they were best on price or just best overall.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
Well, very very competitive on price, but best overall.

Speaker 1 (00:43):
Okay, the reassurances you have on price is that lock's
locked in.

Speaker 2 (00:49):
Well, you know this sort of business of going into
contracts and then the cost plus going forward is not
what they're going to do. And so yes, it's going
to be seriously locked and there is a other four
hundred million contenency out of this planning. But in the
end this is a very very good deal.

Speaker 1 (01:04):
The delivery timing is locked in or not.

Speaker 2 (01:07):
It is, yes, ear and twenty twenty nine one at
the end of twenty twenty nine.

Speaker 1 (01:12):
So what's the bigger issue. Is the bigger issue local
construction here on the work you need to do there
around cost and timing, or the Chinese delivering the ships.

Speaker 2 (01:21):
Now I'm rere confident about the Chinese delivering the ships.
They've got a very good record on this. But look,
I don't know if you have a look at what's
happening in Tasmania. They've got two big new fairies, they've
got no infrastructure and the whole thing's are They're They're
in a very embarrassing situation, which is exactly where would
have been next day in the year after that, because
there's no way in twenty twenty three they hadn't insigned

(01:43):
one contract on infrastructure.

Speaker 1 (01:45):
No, no, we understand, we understand all of that, which
brings us to yesterday in the back and forth in
the business. I mean, at the end of the day,
you've got the problem solved, you've got two ships coming,
You've saved us a lot of money. That's the beginning
of the middle and the end of it, isn't it.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
Look, first of all, I got to read a really
hard nosed, tough, experienced team to do the job, and
we owe them a huge debt. They've got a marvel's job.
And how shall I say, how that carry on workingmen
with all the citizens around what they were trying to do,
which was and less. In less than eleven months, they

(02:20):
have put together the solution. So it all ends.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
Yes, So given that, what are the learnings out of
this in government procuring services or product going forward?

Speaker 2 (02:31):
Well, look, we've got so many examples. We've got Transmission Gully,
We've got poo to walk with her. Every contract blew
out massively and there were huge delays. We can't afford
to have that sort of behavior from central government. What
I'm saying to a lot of people is some of
the politicians need to get other down way and get
the right smart experienced business people, experienced trades people, the

(02:53):
captains and the ship owners and people like that there
who might know something. But what they're talking about that
we're going to far all that in the future rather
than this plus blow out the mess expense to usual textpayer.

Speaker 1 (03:03):
All right, appreciate it. Winston Peters, who is the Royal
Minister of course for more from the mic asking breakfast
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Speaker 2 (03:10):
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