32007 (2026). Tangi Utikere to the Minister for Rail

Written Question

Published date: 29 Jul 2026

Metadata

Document type:	Written Question
Parliament number:	54
Question number:	32007 (2026)
Question asked:	15 Jul 2026
Member asking:	Tangi Utikere
Portfolio:	Minister for Rail
Minister replying:	Rt Hon Winston Peters
Answer received:	23 Jul 2026
Status:	Question Answered
Reply type:	Reply
Document ID:	WQ_32007_2026
Document guid:	9fe6249d-fd3c-417c-bed3-98c01217c849

32007 (2026). Tangi Utikere to the Minister for Rail: Further to reply 30345 (2026), what is the current forecast cost at completion for the Cook Strait ferry replacement programme against the budget approved by Cabinet, expressed as a dollar variance, if any?

Rt Hon Winston Peters: $1.704 billion is the current taxpayer budget for our contribution to the programme. This gives a variance of $0.000 billion against the budget approved by Cabinet. As a mathematical equation: $1.704 billion minus $1.704 billion equals $0.000 billion.