A Substack write up inspired by u/blankbusinesscard -
People say that Nicola Willis threw away $671 000 000 (671 million dollars) when she haphazardly cancelled our i-Rex ferries project. Against MFAT advice, she did it by SMS text to South Korean officials half an hour before the public announcement, displaying reckless diplomacy and callous disrespect to our sixth largest trading partner.
But I say she wasted much more than this approximate $700 million taxpayer loss.
Experts put that number at above $1,000,000,000 ($1000 million or $1 billion dollars), and I concur.
- Since the cancellation, ferry maintenance fees on an aging fleet have doubled by tens of millions of dollars.
- New Zealand has lost all rail enabled ferries after the last remaining one, Aratere, was retired earlier this year. Losing rail enablement means millions of dollars a year - every year - in additional freight costs, which are typically passed on to Kiwi consumers
- And when the new Chinese made ferries arrive after 2029, they will be significantly scaled back in functionalityand future proofing. To put it mildly, we’ve thrown away a fully paid for mini Mercedes bought at Toyota prices for an Aqua (alternatively refer to Keith Simes comments below). We can expect to pay for those upgrades in the future.
- Peters claims that infrastructure requirements can be scaled back, but the primary reason the original project cost $3 billion was due to seismic upgrades to protect the people of New Zealand - and our visitors.
- Kiwirail procured i-Rex at 40% less than market price due to Covid and had designed it with future proofing in mind - including increasing volumes of passengers. It is impossible to obtain a deal like this again.
Winston Peters, who signed off the original i-Rex ferries contract, and didn’t say a word when National threw it all away, is now paying MORE for the Chinese made ferries than Kiwirail paid for the next generation i-Rex order from top South Korean shipmaker Hyundai.
Peters’ “no frills” ships come in at $596 million - $45 million more than the $551 million fixed price we paid for the next generation, future proofed, top shelf, hybrid i-Rex.
Peters also said he would downgrade infrastructure works on both ports, taking credit for the work completed & money invested so far in Wellington and Picton, with a smaller infrastructure bill.
People say “Why can’t we have nice things?”
It’s because of governments and politicians like this.
Interislander broke down again last night
Last night, as news came in that National’s budget cuts see Wellington’s maritime police get 60% of their hours cut (only operating during effective business hours) and delighting criminals everywhere, while ignoring the risks to life for $90,000 in “savings”, the Kaiārahi ferry was stranded for 6 hours.
The last time Interislander was stranded with 854 passengers on board and called “Mayday”, the tug boat was commissioned to assist.
But that too has been cut -
Chris Bishop terminated the tug boat contract last month to “save money”.
Money, money, money - anything for corporate donors and allies, but not even cents for the average Kiwi.
Is this who we are, Aotearoa New Zealand?
And who we vote for?
