Bangladesh ferry makes joke of procurement policy

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The Daily Blog
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Source: Labour Party – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Bangladesh ferry makes joke of procurement policy

The Government’s commissioning of a Bangladeshi company to build Tokelau’s new ferry makes a joke of its ‘improved’ procurement policy, says Labour’s Economic Development spokesperson Shane Jones.

“The Government was forced to cynically introduce new procurement regulations last October after the struggle local companies are having was highlighted by the Oppositions’ manufacturing inquiry.

“However, this contract shows Steven Joyce’s changes were merely lip service. This hands-off Government is not committed to Kiwi companies.

“It is bizarre New Zealand’s boat building industry was good enough for Oracle Team USA but is not good enough for the Pacific Islands.

“Boat builders only need to look at Dunedin’s gutted Hillside workshop if they want to see the future the Government has planned for their industry.

“Has the Government learnt nothing from KiwiRail who spent $70 million on Chinese-built locomotives only to find they were plagued with problems?

“It’s short-sightedness penny-pinching has robbed local companies and local communities of jobs and opportunities.

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“The tax and other downstream benefits of this type of contract would undoubtedly make up for the extra cost in building the ferry in New Zealand.

“New Zealand workers shouldn’t be second only to cheap labour in Bangladesh where the average monthly wage is $NZ697,” Shane Jones says.

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The claims and opinions made in this statement are those of the release organisation and are not necessarily endorsed by, and are not necessarily those of, The Daily Blog. Also in no event shall The Daily Blog be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on the above release content.

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1 COMMENT

  1. What the hell can you say. This is not too many removes from endorsing slavery.
    To have minimum conditions for those in your own country, then to circumvent them, outsource to a country that stops just short of outright slavery, is no better than legalizing it here again, is that where we are headed?
    Cynical, cynical, cynical. The rules for accepting tenders absolutely must change to recognise this sort of thing, the same as rules the OIO has to apply to decided whether foreigners can buy our farmland.
    We can spare a few million for the rich man’s boat race but we can’t spare a couple to keep NZ boat builders in work.
    I am disgusted, yet again

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