23802 (2026). Camilla Belich to the Minister for Rail

23802 (2026). Camilla Belich to the Minister for Rail: What is the forecast change in spending, if any, on (a) external consultants, (b) contractors, and (c) temporary or labour-hire staff in each of the next four financial years as a consequence of savings made in Budget 2026 for votes the Minister is responsible for, if any, broken down by agency, department, Crown entity, company, or other organisation for which the Minister is responsible?

Rt Hon Winston Peters: The Government has created employment at the Hillside Railway Workships in Dunedin, which is seeing 1,350 wagons assembled by locally trained staff as a result. The final spend on this programme means $7million was able to be handed back, and has occurred under Budget 2026. The Government has continued its funding record for three-yearly Rail Network Investment Programmes, having fully funded the 2027-2030 programme. $170 million in unspent contingency under the current programe has been priortised towards this and continued works on metropolitan network upgrades. These are both positives for employment, but exact breakdowns cannot be supplied within the timeframes of a WPQ and will not be supplied until the exact work programmes are approved.