After ruling out the initial Ferry replacement deal for political virtue signal purposes AND to fuck over KiwiRail for the Trucking Industry, watching the Political Right attempt to run defence for this shambolic decision has been extraordinary.
Here’s Meme Agent Performance Artist Chris Penk…
…or 13 new cancer drugs to sell you eh Penky?
This Government’s priority are their rich landlord mates with a $2.9billion tax break and $14billion in borrowed tax cuts, NOT the infrastructure we need!
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This is a Government whose only value is to their donors interests, watching Right Wing Trolls trying to defend this is jaw dropping.
You voted this in Kiwis, you own their venality!
And what has Penk delivered other than mountains of bull shit
Chris Penk, even your name is laughable and YES Labour would have delivered the ships just as they did pay equity. Fuck Chris and I thought you were one of the few better ones in the national party, it appears not.
As Farrar said on X, Bluebridge has managed a fleet of eight different ferries since 1992. They managed to replace and renew them successfully before they break down, and have done it without costing taxpayers a cent”. Time to sell off the Interislander perhaps.
“But political commentator Liam Hehir says it’s going to be difficult for the Government to avoid the link between the grounding and its jettisoning of the $1.45b iRex project to acquire new Interislander ferries.
The Aratere grounding is “another damning episode” where NZ “had big aspirations and ambitions” to do things but eventually failed to see them through, he said.”
“Just saying,” tweeted former prime minister Helen Clark, “didn’t someone cancel the order for badly needed new NZ inter-island ferries?”
Michael Wood, a transport minister under the last Labour government, says it’s been known for a long time the ferries are at the end of their useful lifespans.
“What today’s events throw into relief is that the decision to stop those ferries being built isn’t one that results in a quick replacement – we’re looking at years and years before we have the security of new vessels.”
Time to vote out this outrageous cut at all cost government perhaps.
No country in the world has a privately owned ferry service on such a vital maritime corridor.
A ferry is a public good, not a private commoditiy.
yes well lets see Blue bridge stump up a couple of billion for the new ferries then .We want ferries to move more freight in a day than Blue bridge does in a year .Then there is the small question of how many million people a year which is growing
“We want ferries to move more freight in a day than Blue bridge does in a year .”
Gordon – that’s a nonsenical statement. How big do you think those ferries would have to be?
National will look to reduce the embarrassment willis was to quick to dismiss the new ferries she showed her lack of knowledge and experience in purchasing decent ferries she thinks it’s like buying a car. If we introduced performance pay she wouldn’t get paid. We need to invest in new ferries and we need to maintain public ownership to ensure such and important public good is sustainable and accessible for trade and tourism. Luxon said during the election there would be no asset sales.
A big problem for me is that I see dead Labour’s political ghosts walking. The roger stabbed Lange’s Last Labour in the front which gave rise to the new neo-labour which is now proving itself to be a post roger mutant National Party appendage. And that, is the problem I struggle with when I read you @ MB writing warmly about the Labour we no longer have.
We don’t have Unions, we don’t have taxes-paid-for assets, our people have no protections against the psychopathic greed of privateers AKA the pirates who boldly lobby our fawning traitor politicians who sign off on private contracts for public works which in turn sees homeless-people numbers swell while rich lazy cunts flourish. For me, personally, I don’t see things changing unless we somehow miraculously awaken to just how abused and exploited we’ve become on a rich land covered in long suffering primary industry farmers who make then sell their goods for a few cents on the dollar at best so we can buy foreign made stuff and things.
Warning! We really need to deal with The Roger and his cronies or they will sell us to cover over their crimes.
If you think a boat bumping into a rock or a power pole falling over is a crisis then you ain’t fucking seen nothing yet baby.
Quoting Farrer, a gNat glovepuppet spouting propaganda when the hand controlling him squeezes, is laughable.
The Interislander runs bigger ships, meaning less risk of cancellation than Bluebridge (https://www.discovernewzealand.com/blog/travel-between-the-north-and-south-islands-via-ferry). Bluebridge can cherry pick for profits – KiwiRail has to deliver according to the countries needs, but on shoestring funding.
KiwiRails Interislander operation runs the ONLY rail-capable ferry.
Thanks to years of underinvestment, our country’s rail network is down to relying on one ship to maintain our interisland link. Rail infrastructure requires ongoing investment as an essential service in the national interests. In terms of energy required to move large volumes of freight around our regions, you cannot beat the physics of steel wheels on steel rails. Other countries recognise this, and invest accordingly.
The last government recognised how perilous this critical situation was, and the iReX project was born (https://www.transport.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/11_Detailed-Business-Case_Interislander-Ferries-and-Terminals.pdf).
The current government, brought to power in part thanks to large donations from vested interests and totally lacking in any costed tax policy whenever challenged in the campaign (https://newsroom.co.nz/2023/09/29/nats-fiscal-plan-doesnt-answer-tax-cut-questions/) sacrificed iReX (along with many many other things!) to help defray the gaping hole in their promise to gift $3billion to landlords.
They are now staring down the barrel of a monumental strategic cockup. Slashing and burning our key infrastructure to clear the way for privatisation by their donors has left us in a dreadful situation. They have no Plan B.
They have already crossed the line by lying to people dying of cancer.
This one staggering and disgusting action signalled an unbelievably large and sudden decline in the history of our politics .
The further exposure of their venal & vacuous plans by the Aratere grounding is therefore unsurprising.
The steering was a new system fitted within the last month.
That is Irrelevant.
The ship was built 24 years ago and at its end of life stage.
Whether the new system failed or not is not the point.
Both arataki and aratere need replacement and the onshore infrastructure to support the new ships into the future and earthquake and sea rise events .
This Govt is so incompetent it is beyond words to describe it.
It’s precisely the relevant point for this mishap. Certainly there should be new ferries but it looks as though KiwiRail failed to budget for the terminal upgrades. Unfortunately it’s what you get when the government runs commercial enterprises. No one is accountable.
They will be accountable if they don’t replace the ferries as everyone and their dog knows they need replacing
It’s what you get when you underfund vital public services is “precisely the relevant point”.
tell you what ennius name 1, just one privatised public service that is better/cheaper than it’s public equivilant…just to give you a chance you can include uk ones—-not that that’ll help you
Your question isn’t precise. If you mean “what private enterprise charges me less than it did when it was getting a taxpayer subsidy” you might be right. However the cost to the taxpayer for the NZRs, Telecoms, Ministry of Works was huge. You are just looking at your personal point of sale cost. Why should I subsidise you?
I would vote conservative for the right reasons. one, for the environment. and two, for humanity. neither of which this lot are doing. Neo-Liberal Conservatives – Capital Conservatives – the worst kind. Nepotists and Oligarchs.
I would vote left if they ever ever ever ever ever got past hui, other talk fests, discussion groups and accounting firms claiming to give advice.
Correct Bambino.
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