A mock-up of the new large ships which would have replaced the current Interislander ferries. Photo: Supplied / KiwiRail
A new poll by Talbot Mills suggests more New Zealanders oppose the decision to cancel the ferry contract than support it.
Between 28 June and 8 July, among other questions, 1026 people were asked if they agreed with the cancellation of the ferry contract.
"As you may be aware, the incoming National government cancelled the contract to replace the aging ferries which had a cost of $551 million.
"How strongly do you agree, or disagree that this was the right decision?"
Overall, 34 percent of people agreed with the decision, while 46 percent disagreed.
- Strongly agree: 10 percent
- Agree: 24 percent
- Disagree: 20 percent
- Strongly disagree: 26 percent
- Unsure: 21 percent
The poll had a margin of error of +/-3.1 percent at the 95 percent confidence interval, and was weighted for demographics.
Talbot Mills is a reputable pollster and research firm which is signed up to the Research Association of New Zealand Code of Practice. It also carries out regular polling for the Labour Party, but those results are often not publicly released.
The results were provided directly and exclusively to RNZ.
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Another poll taken about the same time for the Taxpayers Union - by Curia, which is also a member of the polling code - found slightly more respondents were supportive of privatising the Interislander service than opposed such a move.
The polls cannot be used for direct comparison as they use slightly different methods and ask different questions, but give a snapshot indication of public sentiment.
That poll had asked 1007 people between 4 and 8 July: "There are two companies that provide passenger and freight services over Cook Strait. The government owned Kiwirail which operates the Interislander ferries and the privately owned StraitNZ which operates the Bluebridge ferries. Would you support or oppose the Government selling the Interislander ferry services to a private operator?"
About 43 percent supported selling the Interislander, while 38 percent opposed the sale and 19 percent were unsure. It had a 3.1 percent margin of error.
State-Owned Enterprises Minister Paul Goldsmith on Tuesday told reporters the government would not sell SOEs without having campaigned on it, but would not rule out doing that in future.
A recent report by international assessors has since found the current ferries could continue to be used until at least 2029 by using a more intensive maintenance regime costing $36m a year - a $7m increase on KiwiRail's current annual spend.
Documents released after the coalition cancelled funding for the ferry project showed officials from Treasury and the Ministry of Transport had encouraged the new government to do so after years of mistrusting KiwiRail's goals and estimates.
The previous Labour government had provided the $750m under an in-principle decision - but this was $200m less than KiwiRail had said was the minimum needed to keep the project going - and meant the company had to spend $100m more than it expected just to keep options open ahead of last year's election.