A union says the taxpayer pays the price for any cost blowout to the Cook Strait ferry replacement programme.  

A Treasury review last year found “back-to-front” planning and decaying port infrastructure's left the project exposed to delays and higher costs.  

Maritime Union Secretary Carl Findlay told Ryan Bridge Ferry Holdings was set up to sort all of this out.  

He says they should've pulled together the Port of Wellington and Picton, both councils, and KiwiRail so they're all on the same page. 

Findlay says they’ve known about these issues for several years, and from his understanding, nothing’s been done at either port to accommodate the ferries. 

Ferry Holdings says the groups planning shows costs are within the allocated budget.  

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