Francesca Rudkin: Interislander needs to step up and own up over ferry embarrassment

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

Ever had one of those weeks when things just go from bad to worse? We all have, right – so we can appreciate how bad things got for KiwiRail this week.

It was like watching an episode of Utopia or The Office as more details about the Aratere ferry grounding came to light. Then, to top it off, the Transport Minister refused to confirm or deny whether an advisory group has suggested KiwiRail no longer run the Cook Strait ferries. The Maritime Union says it looks that way.

A couple of weeks ago, we spoke to the Duncan Roy, the General Manager of Interislander, after the ferry was successfully refloated. We celebrated the good news and the lack of damage to the ferry, but Roy was hesitant to comment on the Government pointing the finger very directly at the company for their standard of asset management. He diplomatically referred to a formal investigation.

And you have to wonder if that’s because Interislander knew what was up - that human error caused the ferry to slide onto the beach.

At this stage, who knows why auto-pilot was turned on and then the 'execute' button pushed, but knowing that’s what happened makes you think differently about the photos of the beached ferry. For all of us who weren’t passengers or businesses directly impacted, it suddenly looks comical.

Like, say, taking bolts out of a power tower and then watching it fall over.

None of us are perfect – we are human. We all do silly things at times. For a while, I had a habit of driving off with a cup of tea on the roof of my car. My children gave me a plastic keep cup. But some mistakes have a greater impact than others.

So I’m not surprised the question has been asked whether KiwiRail should continue running the ferries. But if not them, who? And how are we going to deal with the replacement of the ferries and landside infrastructure? A big picture plan needs to be in place before we start making other changes – like creating a new entity to run the ferries.

It’s clearly a complex business with specific challenges – and maybe those who know it best should hold the reins a little longer, until we know where the business is heading. The Government received a report from the Independent Ferry Advisory Group a few weeks ago. Decisions are yet to be made about the recommendations it contains, and once that’s done it will have to go to Cabinet. It may take be some time, but the Government scrapped the previous plan so the onus is on them to get moving.

In the meantime, I suggest Interislander just step up, own up, and do themselves a favour - move on from the grounding.

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