39659 (2026). Tangi Utikere to the Minister for Rail

39659 (2026). Tangi Utikere to the Minister for Rail: How many Interislander staff positions, if any, were disestablished as a result of the transition from a three-ship to a two-ship fleet, and what was the total cost of redundancies paid?

Rt Hon Winston Peters: In late August 2025, we personally visited the Wellington Terminal to thank the Aratere crew following her final commercial service across the Cook Strait. Retaining the Aratere in service would have required at least $120 million in additional expenditure to build a transitional wharf, and add considerable complexity to the build programme. Interislander was always going to two ships, so right sizing crews was inevitable. The Aratere retirement saw a reduction of 110 positions, bringing total Interislander staff to 500 (at the time). Some people were redeployed within KiwiRail, and more than 60 per cent of eligible staff took voluntary redundancy. Redundancy costs are commercially sensitive.