The Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ) is warning the Government not to pursue privatisation of the Cook Strait Interislander ferry service, calling the idea a “dangerous step backwards.”
The comments follow reports of a cabinet paper obtained under the Official Information Act, which suggests privatisation could be on the table for the new Interislander ferry fleet.
Maritime Union national secretary Carl Findlay says New Zealand has already suffered the consequences of selling off key infrastructure in the past.
“What followed was a textbook case of corporate raiding, where assets were stripped for short-term profit, maintenance was run into the ground, and workers paid with their lives due to shocking health and safety breaches,” Findlay says.
“The taxpayer was then forced to spend millions to buy back the asset and start the long process of fixing it up.”
He believes pressure to privatise is being driven by the ACT Party within the coalition, but hopes New Zealand First leader and Minister for Rail Winston Peters will oppose such a move.
“We believe the Minister of Rail, Winston Peters, who has spoken at length about the failures of past privatisations, will not allow the Government to be swayed by ACT-style agendas.”
Findlay says keeping a publicly-owned, New Zealand-run ferry operator on the Cook Strait is vital for the country’s economic and supply chain resilience.
He described the strait as the country’s “blue highway,” an extension of State Highway 1 and the Main Trunk Line.
MUNZ has also been critical of the Government’s cancellation of the iRex ferry replacement project earlier this year. Finance Minister Nicola Willis scrapped the plan, citing cost blowouts with a price tag reaching $3 billion.
Findlay says the decision has created years of delays and a billion-dollar cost to New Zealand.
While the union supports opportunities for private coastal shipping services elsewhere, Findlay says the focus for the Cook Strait must remain on “investing in a modern, reliable, and publicly-owned ferry fleet that is fit for the 21st century and serves all New Zealanders”.
