18114 (2026). Tangi Utikere to the Minister for Rail

18114 (2026). Tangi Utikere to the Minister for Rail: Which private companies has the Minister or the Minister's office had meetings or correspondence with regarding Cook Strait ferry portside infrastructure since taking office, if any?

Rt Hon Winston Peters: Ministerial diaries are released proactively on a monthly basis, and can be found here: https://www.beehive.govt.nz/search?f%5B0%5D=content_type_facet%3Aministerial_diary&f%5B1%5D=ministers%3A6819&f%5B2%5D=government_facet%3A6700 Regarding potential operators, this matter is still under active consideration, and it is therefore not appropriate to comment other than to reiterate that KiwiRail is the default operator of the Interislander. They have been the operator for 60 years and counting and want to continue to be the operator. We are seeing strong and positive performance from them too. The reason why the operator selection has not happened is that we are getting the sequence of decisions right for the taxpayer. By mid-2026 we will approve the commercial port agreements with Port Marlborough and CentrePort, which is a key input for the long-term commercial model for deciding the ferry operator. Getting those decisions sorted first means the operator decision can then happen with fullest knowledge. The Member will be among the first to know once the operator decisions is taken, but until then it is not in the public interest to provide the level of detail requested.