 The opposition Labour Party's defence spokesman Phil Goff blamed shortages of naval personnel following cutbacks made by the National Party government in 2012 for the ships' inactivity (see civilianisation project Audit Report), and said that the RNZN still had a need for the vessels.Goff also questioned Brownlee's claim that the ships were unsuitable as they couldn't operate away from the coast, stating that this was not their intended role.In February 2018 the RNZN's in-house newspaper "Navy Today" reported that three of the IPVs were active, with the fourth to rejoin the fleet later in the year.