The Finance Minister says the Government's looking at other ferry options after turning down KiwiRail's request for more Interislander funding.

The cost of two mega-ferries and upgrading port infrastructure had ballooned to about $3 billion- and KiwiRail says it can't proceed without help.

Nicola Willis says that project is over, and they'll explore other options.

"The option that had been on the table for KiwiRail was the equivalent of the Ferrari, and now we as a Government are saying- look, can we have a look around, are there some very good, safe, reliable Toyota Corollas we could be using instead?"

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The Finance Minister says the Government's looking at other ferry options after turning down KiwiRail's request for more Interislander funding.
The cost of two mega-ferries and upgrading port infrastructure had ballooned to about $3 billion- and KiwiRail says it can't proceed without help.
Nicola Willis says that project is over, and they'll explore other options.
"The option that had been on the table for KiwiRail was the equivalent of the Ferrari, and now we as a Government are saying- look, can we have a look around, are there some very good, safe, reliable Toyota Corollas we could be using instead?"
LISTEN ABOVE

With a straight down the middle approach, Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive on Newstalk ZB delivers the very latest news and views to New Zealanders as they wrap up their day.