Todd Valster: Rail and Maritime Transport Union General Secretary on the costs of the previous rail deal, new deal

Early Edition with Ryan Bridge · Mar 4, 2025 · 3m · transcript

There are fresh developments in the Government's Cook Strait ferry headache.

Hyundai is back in the running to land a deal after the coalition canned its original contract in 2023, blaming ballooning costs.

Documents show the Government's set aside $300 million to cover that broken deal, which must be paid regardless of whether a new deal is struck.

Rail and Maritime Transport Union General Secretary Todd Valster told Andrew Dickens the Government rushed to cancel the original deal.

He reckons the amount of money lost is far higher, saying the $300 million doesn’t recognise costs of…