The enormity of the seriousness of the ferry cancellation agreement

Having abandoned Labour’s plans for rail ferries as a boost to show that National will not spend much, despite borrowing more in its budget than Labour, the grounding of the Aratere, the breakdown of the air force plane and the toppling of an electricity pylon all symbolise the collapse of our underfunded infrastructure.

Nicola Willis wants a Toyota Corolla version and has promised 2 ships that won’t keep up with population growth or emissions limits.

Of course Labor should have ensured that the physical upgrade of ports had to be carried out before ships were delivered, but including rail is crucial for our emissions and future growth, killing the deal for political virtue signaling is insane!

The decision to abandon the Kiwirail Ferry project has always been a question of fucking Kiwirail for National’s trucking industry comrades!

The engine parts for the Cook Strait mega ferries were already built and tested when the contract was canceled, at what point does Nicola Willis start to look compromised in her handling of this fiasco?

According to the Maritime Union of New Zealand, “the cost of the new builds could reach $1.2 billion, more than double the $551 million cost of the canceled iRex project vessels.” $1.2 billion seems pretty expensive for a Toyota Corrola, right?

so right now we have a much higher price for new builds ordered, a five year wait for these new ships to come into service, and we haven’t even discussed the costs of breaking the original contract which could amount to 200 million dollars!

How are these apples looking for the political right?

The right loves to block Labor’s $120 million cycle lane that went nowhere as an example of Labor’s irresponsibility, but this fiasco in the space of a week has blown the cost by $700 million.

The Aratere grounding perfectly symbolizes New Zealand at the moment: rudderless, underfunded and run by right-wing clowns.