9. Question No. 9—Foreign AffairsJENNY MARCROFT (NZ First) to the Minister of Foreign AffairsQuestion No. 9—Foreign Affairs9. JENNY MARCROFT (NZ First) to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: Does he have any concerns about the Scott Base redevelopment in Antarctica?Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Which he started!Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Minister of Foreign Affairs): Quite right exactly—I started it. And that's why this is a very serious answer. Yes we do have some serious concerns. Since the coalition Government took office last week we've been briefed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on serious cost escalations—does it sound familiar?—[Interruption]—now that they're all by themselves—that the Scott Base development project has undergone under the previous Government 2020-2023.Hon Grant Robertson: Who didn't fund it properly eh?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: No he's walking right into it. He's leading with his chin—he wants to know how did it start off. Well here we go. That is on top of the nearly $200 million in additional funding the Labour Cabinet approved in December 2022. We're looking into the situation with urgency and have sought advice as to why Antarctica New Zealand has not yet been able to reach an agreement with its preferred contractor. Here we are four years on—nothing done again. Hon Grant Robertson: You said you were going to get $300 million in private funding. What happened to that—what happened to that?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: We'll get into that keep asking supplementary questions—I've got it all worked out. And how the project can be brought back within the funding envelope that was originally agreed when somebody who was in charge knew what he was doing. We also have questions around Antarctica New Zealand's management of the project and we intend to get answers to those questions in the weeks ahead and also raise the issue of what happened to the private funding idea or did the Minister of Finance just scare them off?Jenny Marcroft: How much are the cost overruns and what caused them?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Sadly a repetitive story: in Budget 2019 at that stage indicative costs of the redevelopment—listen to this—were $262 million with Cabinet also deciding that Antarctica New Zealand would raise $50 million through private sponsorships.Hon Grant Robertson: That's right; what happened to that?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: What happened to that was of course that one party governing by itself—and what a mess that was; unbelievable—unleashed with no experience no understanding of business couldn't run a corner dairy and they did this. In April 2021 the previous Government—screaming out now—approved $344 million to cover the full cost of the redevelopment of Scott Base and in December 2022 an additional funding package was approved bringing the total Government commitment to—listen to this—$503 million. Just like that; doubled it. So on returning to Government we were appalled to learn that the $250 million has doubled and if actions are not taken it will continue to rise. The previously agreed $50 million sponsorship has also disappeared but a decision we're going to find and get to the bottom of. We've now been advised that yet more additional funding may be required to complete the project.Jenny Marcroft: Supplementary?SPEAKER: Yeah just before we go you've got to moderate those answers. That's a very long answer—I was struggling to stay with it. I represent the general public here.Jenny Marcroft: What are the next steps?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Mr Speaker I understand your qualification but misery often takes a long time to spell out. Look various options have been considered by Antarctica New Zealand. We've made it clear to officials that we will only consider options that are costed to remain within the overall project budget that was originally agreed and as close as possible to the initial time line of delivery because time costs money and we are concerned at the terrible waste and future potential delays.Jenny Marcroft: Why is New Zealand redeveloping Scott Base?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: It may not seem so important but the reality is it's a redevelopment project important to this country's strategic national interests. We're committed to ensuring Scott Base is an effective safe and sustainable base for globally significant science working with partners such as the United States. The flow-on impacts to New Zealand and rest of the world of this scientific research is critically important but the project must be completed in a cost-effective and timely manner which respects the hard-earned money of Kiwi taxpayers and no more can outsiders think they can rip the taxpayer off because the people doing the auditing don't know what they're doing like that man over there [Gestures to Hon Grant Robertson].