VOLUME 30 – DECEMBER 2024
The Maritime Worker Te Whanganui-a-Tara NEWSLETTER OF THE WELLINGTON BRANCH OF THE MARITIME UNION OF NEW ZEALAND
MUNZ members supported by ITF and CTU affiliated Unions arrive at Parliament, 14 November 2024
OUR FERRIES – OUR FUTURE! The ongoing Cook Strait ferry saga took another turn in December with the appointment of Winston Peters as Minister of Rail to oversee the ferry procurement process. The Coalition Government has been under increasing pressure since it cancelled the iRex project at the end of 2023. The failure of the Minister of Finance Nicola Willis to provide an alternate plan has left the country in limbo, and KiwiRail facing hundreds of millions of dollars of sunk costs and break fees for the iRex ferries.
There has been a major public backlash against the push by Finance Minister Willis to purchase budget ferries that are not rail enabled and to promote privatization. The new Minister of Rail has indicated his support for rail and his lack of enthusiasm for privatization. MUNZ has already met with the Minister to promote our case. The Maritime Union together with ITF affiliates and the NZCTU has advocated strongly for public owned, rail enabled ferries. The Labour and Green Parties have both publicly backed this plan.
Leading transport industry figures have expressed their concerns on how failure to have rail enabled ferries would lead to major congestion problems and added costs in the supply chain. In November, a march and rally at Parliament was held by MUNZ and fellow ITF affiliate Unions during our Conference. Speakers included overseas guests from the ITF Ferry Taskforce and ILWU, along with NZCTU President R ichard Wagstaf f and M U NZ Wellington Secretary Fiona Mansell. Our Ferries – Our Future!