Andrew Dickens: The political games hiding the real issues behind the Interislander

Anyone who thought the ferry debate was over for summer was very wrong. 

The weekend papers were full of reckons and I reckon it’s because it’s a bigger piece of infrastructure than many realise.

Sure a lot of tourists and locals travel on it, heading on adventures or heading home, but $30 billion dollars worth of freight between the North and South Island depends on it too.

So the reckons were about who screwed it up more. Nicola Willis, Grant Robertson or KiwiRail itself. 

Then there was debate over Winston’s hijacking of the job and whether this will play out well or badly for him. 

The conversation about rail enabled or rail capable rumbled on and whether just letting Bluebridge have the whole job was a good idea, since their boats don't seem to break down or run aground.

Steven Joyce commented on the nostalgic choice of Kaiwharawhara for the ferry port, a very earthquake prone reclamation. But if not there then where Steven? Relocating the port to a seismically more stable location could be even more expensive. 

It was all politically tinged, and that to me is the big problem. 

The best thing I saw was a comment by the political commentator Liam Hehir, who noted that when Grant Robertson first saw the plans KiwiRail had he told them to go back and try again. 

Then he failed to put the expenditure into the pre election financial update. That means one of two things. 

They were going to hide it, but $3 to $4 billion is really too big to hide. 

Or, more likely, they hated the idea too. 

In other words no one a year ago knew what to do and no one liked the idea on the table. 

How refreshing might it have been if that was said openly a year ago. 

Then we could have had a properly informed debate and made a grown up decision, instead we’ve had posturing and virtue signalling about who’s right or wrong, left or right, while a $$30 billion dollar trade route slowly falls apart.

This whole thing is another example of how the best infrastructure decisions are made without politicians. Because they play games that mask the real issues.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Yeah. So anyone who thought the ferry debate was over
for someone was very, very wrong when they got their
papers this weekend. The weekend papers were full of recons
and I reckon. It's because people have begun to realize
that the ferries are a bigger piece of infrastructure than
most think. Sure, we've got a lot of tourists on it,
we've got a lot of locals traveling back and forth
on it, going home, going to new jobs, whatever, heading

(00:22):
out on the ventures. But thirty billion dollars worth of
freight travel between the North and South Island on it too.
It's the Iron Bridge, they call it. So the reckons
were all about who screwed it up more? Was it
Nicholas Willis, Nikola Willis? Was it Grant Robertson or was
it Kiwi Rail itself. There was also debate over Winston's
hijacking of the rail job and whether this will play

(00:43):
out well or badly for him. There was the conversation
about rail enabled or rail capable. Well that rumbled on.
Some said just let Bluebridge have the whole thing, after all,
their ships don't seem to break down or run aground.
Stephen Joyce chimed in commented on the nostalgic choice of
k Fara Farda for the fairy port. This is a
very earthquake prone reclamation, which is what's making Portside so expensive.

(01:06):
But if not there, then where Stephen. Relocating the port
to a seismically more stable location could be even more expensive.
And all of this conversation was very politically tinged, and
maybe that's a problem. I saw a comment on social
media by the political commentator Liam Hare who noted that
when Grant Robertson first saw the plans that Kiwi Ral had,

(01:28):
he said no and told them to go back, sharpen
their pencils and try again. Then he failed to put
the possible expenditure into the pre election financial update. But
remember kiw we Weral had ving come to him with
the new plan. Now not putting the potential the possible
expenditure into the PREFU the pre election financial update means
one of two things. One, Labor was going to hide it,

(01:49):
keep it secret, but you know, three to four billion
dollars is really too big to hide, or what is
more likely, Labor hated the idea too. In other words,
no one a year ago knew what to do. No
one like Kiwi Rail's idea on the table. Now, how
refreshing would that have been If that had been said
openly at the time, then we could have all had

(02:11):
a properly informed debate that made up a grown grown
up made a grown up decision, and instead of all
this political posturing and virtue signaling and point scoring over
who's right and who's wrong, instead of the silence as
we waited for some hail Mary answer from some politician,
and while we waited, a thirty billion dollar trade route

(02:31):
slowly fell apart. This whole thing is another example of
how the best infrastructure decisions are made without politicians, because
the politicians play games that mask the real issues. For
more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live to
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(02:53):
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