Hon Nicola Willis
Minister of Finance
Hon Paul Goldsmith
Minister for State Owned Enterprises

KiwiRail Board Chair David McLean has advised his intention to retire from the KiwiRail Board and his early retirement has been accepted by Shareholding Ministers, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says.

“As an SOE, KiwiRail is governed by its Board. As Ministers, we exercise our influence through our appointments to the Board and the expectations we set for it.

“Unrelated to the Aratere incident, we can confirm that on Wednesday KiwiRail Board Chair David McLean advised us of his intention to retire early, effective from 31 July. His term was due to finish at the end of October.

“We will now conduct a search for his replacement and are considering additional changes to further refresh the KiwiRail Board,” Nicola Willis says.

State Owned Enterprises Minister Paul Goldsmith says the Government is focused on ensuring KiwiRail takes every action necessary to maintain the safety and reliability of its ferry operation.

“Earlier this year we appointed a Ministerial Advisory Group to advise us on options for replacing the ferries. The Group made a series of recommendations to us late last week which are being considered by Ministers before we take proposals to Cabinet,” Paul Goldsmith says.

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