10126 (2025). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister for Rail

10126 (2025). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister for Rail: How many applicants, if any, applied to be appointed to the role of Board Member for Ferry Holdings Board Limited and how many were shortlisted, if any?

Rt Hon Winston Peters: Potential candidates can be identified in several ways, including advertising publicly, nominations from interested groups or MPs, seeking suggestions from current chairs and board members, or from community and professional networks. The pace of this appointment round to establish a new board was expedited and did not include open advertising or receiving applications. Treasury identified a longlist of candidates through a targeted search process and nominations were also received from Ministers. Five candidates were determined to have the right mix of skills, which has resulted in a chair with deep operational knowledge of rail and ferries, a deputy chair with strong competence in the workings of government, a qualified marine engineer and former global head of Beca, an experienced professional mariner and ship master, and an industry body chief executive with a firm understanding of the New Zealand freight supply chain and customer needs.