Winston Peters orders Ferry Holdings to pull six-figure job ads
Friday, 13 March 2026
Minister for Rail Winston Peters has ordered the Crown company set up to buy two new inter-island ferries to remove job advertisements for three roles offering six-figure salaries.
The rebuke came after The Post on Friday asked questions about three new positions, including a ministerial and governance services manager advertised with a salary of between $230,000–$270,000.
The package had raised eyebrows among other public servants in comparable roles.
A strategic communications and stakeholder engagement lead was advertised at $160,000–$200,000. And a company secretary, overseeing board secretariat and governance compliance, would pull in between $150,000–$180,000.
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In a statement, Peters said ministers were not informed of the salary bands and ordered the board to provide an explanation.
“Ferry Holdings has now taken the job advertisement down, and the roles and salaries will be reviewed until the board is satisfied,” he said.
“The Ferry Holdings board has never been under any illusion as to our expectations that it remains a lean organisation, as we do not tolerate excessive spending. We look forward to their update.”
The intervention underscores concerns over high executive pay in a small, Crown-owned organisation still in early planning stages.
Critics point out the advertised salaries were comparable to those of Tier‑2 public service executives, like deputy chief executives, overseeing hundreds of staff.
Ferry Holdings, which was established in March 2025, has a $13m budget for its first 16 months of operation. That includes $4.5m for staff.
In 2024, The Post revealed the average salary for staff in the new Ministry for Regulation is more than $150,000.
The anti-red tape agency was also more than four times the size of the former Productivity Commission, hiring 91 staff.
It was also hiring spin doctors, with a principal adviser, engagement and communications, paid up to $168,000 a year.
At the same time, the Social Investment Agency was also searching for a consultant to work as a communications manager, drawing a salary of up to almost $237,000.
That’s despite ACT, and coalition partner National, campaigning to reduce the public sector wage bill, make 15,000 public servants redundant and slash “wasteful spending” in the sector.
The Ferry Holdings roles all focused on governance, oversight and communications, and did not directly involve the procurement or technical delivery of the new ferries, due in 2029.
According to online employment marketplace Seek, the success ministerial and governance services manager – advertised at $230,000–$270,000, was responsible for ministerial servicing, governance, policy oversight, and statutory reporting.
The strategic communications and stakeholder engagement lead would be tasked with shaping the messaging, talking to partners and managing reputational risk.
Ferry Holdings had also contracted human resources consultancy Human Kind to do the hiring.
Ferry Holdings chairperson Chris MacKenzie said in a statement the board did not approve salary bands at this level “and as such the advertisements have been withdrawn until we are satisfied that the roles are scoped as appropriate”.
“We have a firm focus on cost efficiency; indeed, it is core to our purpose as a company.”