Live: Interislander runs aground

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says the Government is committed to getting new ferries for the Cook Strait, but he wouldn't commit to having that done by 2027.

Luxon told Newshub he would have "a lot more to say" about the Government's plan to fund KiwiRail's Interislander renewal, after cancelling the company's plan to build new larger ships - which needed new, and expensive, port infrastructure.

He said that plan would be "right-sized" and it was "utterly unacceptable" that costs had more than doubled from an initial budget of $750 million.

While he promised there would be an alternative option, he didn't say when that would be confirmed. He said ministers received advice about a new Interislander option at the end of last week, coincidentally just after the KiwiRail chairman resigned and before the Aratere ran aground.

With that being said, Luxon said he had faith in the safety of the Interislander.