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All in all, TDB gives punters a very, very, very wide space to comment in but we won’t bother with out right lies or gleeful malice. We leave that to the Herald comment section.
EDITORS NOTE: – By the way, here’s a list of shit that will get your comment dumped. Sexist abuse, homophobic abuse, racist abuse, anti-muslim abuse, transphobic abuse, Chemtrails, 9/11 truthers, Qanon lunacy, climate deniers, anti-fluoride fanatics, anti-vaxxer lunatics, 5G conspiracy theories, the virus is a bioweapon, some weird Bullshit about the UN taking over the world and ANYONE that links to fucking infowar.
Winston careless with the truth? Did he say “all issues” which would mean more than monetary compensation, as environmental ones were raised, and people’s livelihoods affected.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/582419/did-new-zealand-shortchange-samoa-over-hmnzs-manawanui-wreck-compensation Dec.22/25
https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/582263/samoan-villagers-still-waiting-for-compensation-more-than-a-year-after-manawanui-disaster Dec.19/25
https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/576204/villagers-begin-talks-with-government-on-sharing-manawanui-compensation-fund Oct.17/25
https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/574033/samoa-village-elders-still-seeking-compensation-want-manawanui-wreck-removed Sept.25/25
Have the Samoan government paid money to the villagers? What has NZ done to help with the ecology problems still of concern and affecting the ordinary people, who we know from experience are a little out of the loop of the bg ones. And if anyone likes to put up a short explanation why we can’t be trusted to run ships properly I would be interested to know about the Manawanui. We have had the ferries pottering about, even while the Wahine is a salient point, and the great mystery of the Mikhail Lermontov, a pride of Russia being driven a might carelessly near rocky shores in Marlborough Sounds in 1986.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Mikhail_Lermontov#Court_case
The Soviet commission of inquiry concluded that; “Pilot Don Jamieson took a decision which was not justified by anything and gave a command to steer the ship through the dangerous for navigation passage between Cape Jackson and Jackson Head which must not be passed through because of insufficient depths for a ship of such draught.
[Notice that the Russians were not as lax and easy-peasy as Kiwi government and forces were. I think the decision was that the Russians were bad, and did not deserve the benefit of the doubt. Jamison was back in his position after a short break with no condemnation I think.The country had washed and starched its white pinny in 1974 taking Bill Sutch to Court for a negative judgment about a meeting with a Russian and supposed exchange of information that resulted in him being blackened as a Russian spy; despite being a public servant with far more understanding of the true nature of up-to-date world politics and economic forces than the little minds elected to be our leaders. Nicholas Boyacks’s article in The Press stated: Bill Sutch: A KGB agent of influence whose life was a lie | Sept.27/24]
]
Nevertheless, the Russian navigator, chief officer Sergey Stepanishchev was sent to prison for 4 years “with labor” and fined $US30,000 because he did not overrule the pilot. New Zealand Prime Minister at the time of the sinking, David Lange, called the sentence “totally absurd; it’s an instance of totalitarian justice being meted out to a man who had no … responsibility for steering the ship anywhere near Port Jackson. In fact, he’d been stood down in favour of Captain Jamison.” As harsh as it may seem – “The presence of a pilot on board does not relieve the master or officer in charge of the watch from their duties or obligations for the safety of the ship”…
The 1986 New Zealand Minister of Transport Richard Prebble later stated of the captain’s actions, “why he decided to guide the ship over a passage that he actually knew was too shallow, I don’t think he’ll ever be able to answer.”…
Court case
The disaster was the subject of the celebrated Australian restitution case Baltic Shipping Company v Dillon (The Mikhail Lermontov) (1993) 176 CLR 344, in which Mrs Dillon, having already been awarded damages for loss to both her possessions and person, as well as a pro-rata refund on her cruise ticket, claimed restitution for the remaining value of her ticket on the basis of failure of consideration. …
[Precedents presented were two back to 1677 and 1720. And have we learned the facts yet, or will always skew towards the west instead of distrusting all sides and ourselves, aware how deep machiavellian currents flow. Nobody should believe our government’s serious concerns and promises these days. It is 100% sure that of being in the right at any controversy and will step up and fight even its own citizens (clients, consumers) in Court on enough provocation, ie demands for fairness.]