I think we can all see that to National, and particularly to ACT, any money spent on the general (tax paying) public is "wasteful", while anything spent on private contractors or expensive and unneeded infrastructure is "prudent".
We’re going to lose more than we ever would have spent building them if they’d just given the go-ahead. And yeah, no way that these are going to get build by 2026, this iRex procurement was a 10 year process. If they can’t resurrect that contract, it’ll be 2032 at the earliest would be my bet (literally were a year on and we dont even have a replacement decided, it’ll take them two years just to do that).
The South Korea blunder is especially stupid because Luxon wants to convince us to move away from China because “it’s not a democracy” (apparently the last 100 years of politics and economics where non-democracies have traded with democracies to great benefit seems to have escaped him). Trying to shift our export market to wider asia like Japan and Korea instead of saying “nah she’ll be right, america will be our new trading buddy!” would have been 1) very mildly less racist and 2) makes much more geographic sense and is considerably more likely to be successful than actually getting a trade deal with the US, let alone a favourable one.
i’m glad they started off how they meant to continue but i really wish they hadn’t made labour so fucking scared of spending money with their talk/lies about how labour has overspent, the country is going break, and the economy is ruined (i mean it probably is now but back then it was doing a lot better. 🤔). If they’d approved the money before losing the election it would have averted a disaster. Of course they would have got punished for it and we never would have learnt this “lesson” (Do you feel educated? I don’t) and it would have confirmed to half the country that they can’t be trusted with money. But isn’t it strange that when National is pissing it up a wall, it’s all grand?
But I’m sure we’ll all Willis fondly when the cost of shipping doubles in a handful of years 🙃
The problem was, the advice came from MFAT, you know, those pesky backroom people. Who needs them???!! Nicola's rush to be newsworthy post-cabinet meant that she didn't have time for advice, she had to move with the vibe. I imagine she sent the txts as her false eyelashes were being applied, getting media 'ready'. Head boy Luxon was busy getting the tiktok team primed - it's not his job to micro-manage, his laser focus was on the next big thing. Bunch of amateurs.
"I know best Willis" strikes again. It only costs us $1bn and counting (far more if we consider outside of this case) But nah, easy change for a trainee to try out her chops. She's worth it!
Brilliant. The demonstration of an imbecile at work, actively destroying NZ credibility abroad, whilst simultaneously wrecking our inconnectivity infrastructure, further impoverishment the ailing health portfolio, and paying her mates large handouts at the expense of the poor. Way to go Nicola!
… Yes I think a lot of people feel the same way which is why small actionable steps are the only way forward. I.e do one thing that you feel builds hope and shows what you choose e.g send an article, make a comment so others who don’t speak but feel the same way don’t feel alone ❤️, plant a tree, take care of yourself by doing something nice eg a bath or a book and not drink, assist someone at the supermarket or speak kindly to a stranger or child - just one breath, one step at a time 🙏 ☀️
This scuttling of the ferries was another ‘decision by reckon*, and reward the donors whenever you can move. Would it count as a bipartisan approach to infrastructure? *(or wreckin’)
If I was a ship builder and this govt came to me for new ferries, I'd be a mug if I didn't get cash up front. Also given their actions means they'll pay a premium for untrustworthy business dealings.
I had a hunt for the cancellation amount from the contract, and as it was reported to the Korean stock exchange, it works out to NZ $500Mil. ( translated from Korean) https://dart.fss.or.kr/dsaf001/main.do?rcpNo=20240213801192 I cant see the Korean's discounting off this, but perhaps they are going to try and resell the engines etc and recoup the costs? it is pretty opaque, but from the kiwirail annual report they had only spent about 90 Mil on Capex for iRex that could be ship based in 2023, so I am guessing there is a flashing red bill for 3-400 Mill due. Maybe the Korean's will hold up the trade visit as collateral in exchange for their money?
I remember Kiwirail told Nicola Willis that it would be much cheaper for NZ if we bought the ferries and then onsold it, but of course, that was politically unfeasible for the Toyota seeking heat-missile.
This article explains the extra amounts but I'll extract the key points
- Fixed contract fee ~400-500mn (thank you for finding that Korean source, that's awesome)
- Cancellation damages reported bumping 500mn
- Bought at 40% less than market price - the variance for a similar is untenable so I assume they will underspec or go for lower quality - something to "save face" here - baking in future costs to NZ
OMG! I didn't realise how amateurish & cringe-worthy the "break-up" with the ferry contract was - bad enough it was so ill-thought out & OUR tax money down the drain for zero benefit, but a text message? Really? Better to have postponed the announcement, but she was like a dizzy teen desperate to show off her new found power, instead of at the very least protecting Aotearoa's foreign political and commercial reputation (even if she was determined to chuck OUR $$ down a bottomless hole). And as you say, underspending on things that REALLY matter while throwing $$ away on things their mates want - or in this case just throwing money away for absolutely NO gain for anybody (except the ship builders, who will get the penalty payment plus hopefully sell the work already done instead of suing NZ to recoup those losses too).
Yeah as I said to KueenM, it's hair on fire, dumpster level incapability and total disrespect really. Also shows a lack of courage.
"Oh please call me back immediately - oh well, you didn't so now I will just text you everything rather than have to face you myself. BTW I'm going public now! Ciao!"
I can only imagine what MFAT staffers were saying on the quiet. Probably something along the lines of "What the fk"
Talk about championing the 101 of how NOT to do diplomacy. And now those same diplomats, the public servants govt don't like, are left to clean-up the crap. Hmm.
Arrogance personified. What next? Tell me there's light at the end of the tunnel MT because all I can see is a never ending maelstrom of shit and more shit.
I’ve been pondering this note and want to write something for it - but please give me a few days to see if it takes shape. Happy weekend ahead too, KueenM!
No problem at all. It was more for myself as am hating the negativity I'm feeling! :) if it doesn't take shape, all good, I know whatever you're writing about is just articulating what many of us are thinking but in a succinct way! Happy weekend e hoa.
NZ is ideally placed to advance Polynesia interests but it must distance itself from Australia and the US and not kowtow to any other major power. The recently announced external threats are political posturing...
Would we starve? Butter beats olive oil
Will we lose i/net?
Lose face?
Most of our infrastructure is overseas owned and controlled - electricity/gas. Will the owners close down and leave?
I thought that maritime experts have said that the ferries on order were too big to be fit for purpose in the narrow waterways and constricted spaces they were expected to operate. Luckily those ferries have been canceled, and I suspect we will get smaller ferries like we have now that are more fit for purpose.
The original ferries would have required some dock upgrades which yes did add some cost but if you look at the whole scenario and think about investment in infrastructure I.e. future proofing… well it’s a bit like if the roof of your house was leaking, you cancel the roofer that you already paid a non refundable deposit to and buy a cheap tarpaulin instead. It just doesn’t make sense. But NZ has always had a very strong transport lobby who feel threatened by rail. I wonder how much they donated to coalition parties before the election.
Comparing roofing to ferries doesnt make much sense either. We already have rail enabled ferries, and could easily get more, so I am not sure why you think it is about anti-rail ? I can see this blog by Mt Tui is very anti sentiment, as are the posts like yours. It goes to show how polarized are the views. Lucky this debate is only about boats.
Well I guess if you cancelled the roofing because you found out the spouting needed replacing…. Then the analogy works. The newer ferries were going to be larger and they discovered dock upgrades to accomodate would also be required. This hadn’t been anticipated and it increased the cost but to my mind it still didn’t make sense to cancel them.
From my understanding the seismic work blew out the estimates - but that was from a few years ago - everything's gone up - and the fact is Simeon Brown's road budget blew out by what, 100%-200% from 2023 and not a beep from them on that!
$1.4bn more to future proof the North-South link with rail - unacceptable and affordable!
$70bn for roads - easy peasy - nothing to look at here!
I think we can all see that to National, and particularly to ACT, any money spent on the general (tax paying) public is "wasteful", while anything spent on private contractors or expensive and unneeded infrastructure is "prudent".
🎯 💯
We’re going to lose more than we ever would have spent building them if they’d just given the go-ahead. And yeah, no way that these are going to get build by 2026, this iRex procurement was a 10 year process. If they can’t resurrect that contract, it’ll be 2032 at the earliest would be my bet (literally were a year on and we dont even have a replacement decided, it’ll take them two years just to do that).
The South Korea blunder is especially stupid because Luxon wants to convince us to move away from China because “it’s not a democracy” (apparently the last 100 years of politics and economics where non-democracies have traded with democracies to great benefit seems to have escaped him). Trying to shift our export market to wider asia like Japan and Korea instead of saying “nah she’ll be right, america will be our new trading buddy!” would have been 1) very mildly less racist and 2) makes much more geographic sense and is considerably more likely to be successful than actually getting a trade deal with the US, let alone a favourable one.
i’m glad they started off how they meant to continue but i really wish they hadn’t made labour so fucking scared of spending money with their talk/lies about how labour has overspent, the country is going break, and the economy is ruined (i mean it probably is now but back then it was doing a lot better. 🤔). If they’d approved the money before losing the election it would have averted a disaster. Of course they would have got punished for it and we never would have learnt this “lesson” (Do you feel educated? I don’t) and it would have confirmed to half the country that they can’t be trusted with money. But isn’t it strange that when National is pissing it up a wall, it’s all grand?
But I’m sure we’ll all Willis fondly when the cost of shipping doubles in a handful of years 🙃
The problem was, the advice came from MFAT, you know, those pesky backroom people. Who needs them???!! Nicola's rush to be newsworthy post-cabinet meant that she didn't have time for advice, she had to move with the vibe. I imagine she sent the txts as her false eyelashes were being applied, getting media 'ready'. Head boy Luxon was busy getting the tiktok team primed - it's not his job to micro-manage, his laser focus was on the next big thing. Bunch of amateurs.
"I know best Willis" strikes again. It only costs us $1bn and counting (far more if we consider outside of this case) But nah, easy change for a trainee to try out her chops. She's worth it!
If it doesn't fit on her A4 page of bullet points it ain't worth knowing. You need to turn the "if" page over in order to find the 'therefore'.
Brilliant. The demonstration of an imbecile at work, actively destroying NZ credibility abroad, whilst simultaneously wrecking our inconnectivity infrastructure, further impoverishment the ailing health portfolio, and paying her mates large handouts at the expense of the poor. Way to go Nicola!
Besides feeling angry and frustrated it leaves me with a sense of helplessness.
… Yes I think a lot of people feel the same way which is why small actionable steps are the only way forward. I.e do one thing that you feel builds hope and shows what you choose e.g send an article, make a comment so others who don’t speak but feel the same way don’t feel alone ❤️, plant a tree, take care of yourself by doing something nice eg a bath or a book and not drink, assist someone at the supermarket or speak kindly to a stranger or child - just one breath, one step at a time 🙏 ☀️
Yes yes yes.
This scuttling of the ferries was another ‘decision by reckon*, and reward the donors whenever you can move. Would it count as a bipartisan approach to infrastructure? *(or wreckin’)
If I was a ship builder and this govt came to me for new ferries, I'd be a mug if I didn't get cash up front. Also given their actions means they'll pay a premium for untrustworthy business dealings.
Pay up or get out. That said, I suspect they're good mates to certain people in business, just got to be the right kind and type.
A txt is all you need to run the household budget...
I had a hunt for the cancellation amount from the contract, and as it was reported to the Korean stock exchange, it works out to NZ $500Mil. ( translated from Korean) https://dart.fss.or.kr/dsaf001/main.do?rcpNo=20240213801192 I cant see the Korean's discounting off this, but perhaps they are going to try and resell the engines etc and recoup the costs? it is pretty opaque, but from the kiwirail annual report they had only spent about 90 Mil on Capex for iRex that could be ship based in 2023, so I am guessing there is a flashing red bill for 3-400 Mill due. Maybe the Korean's will hold up the trade visit as collateral in exchange for their money?
I remember Kiwirail told Nicola Willis that it would be much cheaper for NZ if we bought the ferries and then onsold it, but of course, that was politically unfeasible for the Toyota seeking heat-missile.
This article explains the extra amounts but I'll extract the key points
- Fixed contract fee ~400-500mn (thank you for finding that Korean source, that's awesome)
- Cancellation damages reported bumping 500mn
- Bought at 40% less than market price - the variance for a similar is untenable so I assume they will underspec or go for lower quality - something to "save face" here - baking in future costs to NZ
https://mountaintui.substack.com/p/a-suite-of-politics-why-is-luxon?utm_source=publication-search
OMG! I didn't realise how amateurish & cringe-worthy the "break-up" with the ferry contract was - bad enough it was so ill-thought out & OUR tax money down the drain for zero benefit, but a text message? Really? Better to have postponed the announcement, but she was like a dizzy teen desperate to show off her new found power, instead of at the very least protecting Aotearoa's foreign political and commercial reputation (even if she was determined to chuck OUR $$ down a bottomless hole). And as you say, underspending on things that REALLY matter while throwing $$ away on things their mates want - or in this case just throwing money away for absolutely NO gain for anybody (except the ship builders, who will get the penalty payment plus hopefully sell the work already done instead of suing NZ to recoup those losses too).
Yeah as I said to KueenM, it's hair on fire, dumpster level incapability and total disrespect really. Also shows a lack of courage.
"Oh please call me back immediately - oh well, you didn't so now I will just text you everything rather than have to face you myself. BTW I'm going public now! Ciao!"
Awfully unserious and unfair people.
I can only imagine what MFAT staffers were saying on the quiet. Probably something along the lines of "What the fk"
Talk about championing the 101 of how NOT to do diplomacy. And now those same diplomats, the public servants govt don't like, are left to clean-up the crap. Hmm.
Yes, and in international diplomacy terms, this is hair on fire type dumpster level KueenM.
Arrogance personified. What next? Tell me there's light at the end of the tunnel MT because all I can see is a never ending maelstrom of shit and more shit.
I’ve been pondering this note and want to write something for it - but please give me a few days to see if it takes shape. Happy weekend ahead too, KueenM!
No problem at all. It was more for myself as am hating the negativity I'm feeling! :) if it doesn't take shape, all good, I know whatever you're writing about is just articulating what many of us are thinking but in a succinct way! Happy weekend e hoa.
Thank you ❤️ and you also 😊 Stay strong and well.
Tui
Imma gonna think about this one, it's a hard one. Give me a day. 😊
The text was actually sent by an MFAT official. That's why the sign off is "Ambassador Bennet", not "Nicola Willis".
I know.
Just makes it that much worse really.
Just mindboggling. Rage making. Utter bungling stupidity
NZ is ideally placed to advance Polynesia interests but it must distance itself from Australia and the US and not kowtow to any other major power. The recently announced external threats are political posturing...
Would we starve? Butter beats olive oil
Will we lose i/net?
Lose face?
Most of our infrastructure is overseas owned and controlled - electricity/gas. Will the owners close down and leave?
Wasn't the text message sent by an MFAT official? Not by Nicola herself?
I thought that maritime experts have said that the ferries on order were too big to be fit for purpose in the narrow waterways and constricted spaces they were expected to operate. Luckily those ferries have been canceled, and I suspect we will get smaller ferries like we have now that are more fit for purpose.
The original ferries would have required some dock upgrades which yes did add some cost but if you look at the whole scenario and think about investment in infrastructure I.e. future proofing… well it’s a bit like if the roof of your house was leaking, you cancel the roofer that you already paid a non refundable deposit to and buy a cheap tarpaulin instead. It just doesn’t make sense. But NZ has always had a very strong transport lobby who feel threatened by rail. I wonder how much they donated to coalition parties before the election.
Comparing roofing to ferries doesnt make much sense either. We already have rail enabled ferries, and could easily get more, so I am not sure why you think it is about anti-rail ? I can see this blog by Mt Tui is very anti sentiment, as are the posts like yours. It goes to show how polarized are the views. Lucky this debate is only about boats.
Also…. Implied insults don’t really add much to healthy debate.
Well I guess if you cancelled the roofing because you found out the spouting needed replacing…. Then the analogy works. The newer ferries were going to be larger and they discovered dock upgrades to accomodate would also be required. This hadn’t been anticipated and it increased the cost but to my mind it still didn’t make sense to cancel them.
From my understanding the seismic work blew out the estimates - but that was from a few years ago - everything's gone up - and the fact is Simeon Brown's road budget blew out by what, 100%-200% from 2023 and not a beep from them on that!
$1.4bn more to future proof the North-South link with rail - unacceptable and affordable!
$70bn for roads - easy peasy - nothing to look at here!