Peters ignores 'snivelling wokesters' as new ferries to be called Kupe and Cook

Author: Thomas Coughlan & Ethan Manera,
Publish Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2026, 12:48pm

The new Interisland Ferries will be called Kupe and Cook, Minister for Rail Winston Peters has announced.

Peters made the announcement as he confirmed that KiwiRail would continue to own the Interislander ferries once they arrive. Previously, the Government had refused to commit to full KiwiRail ownership.

Part-privatisation had earlier been signalled, with a cabinet paper, revealed by the Herald in July last year, suggesting Ferry Holdings “consider options for ferry ownership and operation”.

“In its various guises from New Zealand Railways, to TranzRail, to Toll, and now KiwiRail, it has managed the Interislander for 64 years. In our book, experience counts,” Peter said, defending the decision.

“KiwiRail also operates rail freight services on the critical route between Auckland and Christchurch. We want the system to work as a whole, and splitting it up would be anathema to that outcome,” Peters said.

However KiwiRail’s operation arrangement would be reviewed in 2039, 10 years after the ferries arrive, in an effort to keep KiwiRail “on their toes”, Peters said.

The new ferries, being built in China have been legally registered with new names, Peters said, honouring New Zealand’s maritime history and the enduring role of Cook Strait in connecting the country.“

The new Interislander ferries are due to arrive in 2029. Image / Supplied

These are proper names. Historic names. New Zealand names,” he said.

Peters took aim at critics of the names.

“Now, we know exactly what will happen. The snivelling wokesters will work themselves into a lather over the name Cook, while offering only passing approval for Kupe. That is how shallow this has become.

“It is fashionable now in certain circles to treat Captain Cook as nothing more than a symbol to be condemned, cancelled, and cast out. A harbinger of colonisation, they say. A figure of division, they say. A relic to be erased,” he said.

Peters also announced the state-owned-enterprise will be paying port fees to CentrePort and the Port of Marlborough, at a commercial price, which would allow them to earn a “reasonable profit” on their combined $210m investment.

Labour Party transport spokesman Tangi Utikere said the announcement was “another sideshow”.“

If Nicola Willis hadn’t destroyed Labour’s iReX programme, New Zealand would be preparing to welcome modern replacement ferries into service,” Utikere said.“Instead, they’ve wasted years, wasted hundreds of millions of dollars, and pushed replacement and resilience even further into the future.”