Barry Soper: Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent on the Government's grilling in Parliament following ferry announcement

The Prime Minister has put on a brave face in the House today, deflecting question after question on a somewhat lacklustre announcement concerning the new ferries.

The Government has revealed the next steps for replacing the ageing Interislander ships - but experts have raised a few questions.

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says it feels like the Government's gone completely off track.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Very Soper, Senior political correspondent. What a big Well it's
a big day, but sort of nothing in it Sandwich today.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
Well you know that the National Party and those that
are in government used to pillary the Labor government for
making an announcement about an announcement. Well, this is exactly
what this coalition government has done today. We were led
to believe we were going to hear about two new
ferries and we were going to hear about the break fee,

(00:32):
which I think probably is three hundred million dollars. But
they've delayed that because they want the year to end
on a high. But unfortunately the track that Chris Luckson
has always said the government's on, they've just come off
that track now because any expectation that we had that
a year on we're going to see the plan for

(00:54):
the new fairies has gone by the wayside. Setting up
a new company, a state owned company.

Speaker 1 (00:59):
No directors appointed till next year.

Speaker 2 (01:02):
No, that's right, And you know, how can you say
it's going to be cheaper when you haven't started negotiation exactly?

Speaker 1 (01:10):
I mean, you know, and the big cost, let's not forget,
was the landside cost. How do you know the landside
costs without knowing what faerries you're going to buy.

Speaker 2 (01:17):
Well, no exactly. And that was the problem with these
big mothers, these big fairies that they were going to buy.
The infrastructure on arther side of the Strait couldn't accommodate them.
So why on earth they decided to buy them in
the fairst place anyway? Winston Peters though he's to the rescue.
He's the new Minister of Rail. As you said, they
haven't had one of those for many a long year.

(01:39):
And it was Winston that appointed Alan Greg Miller as
a CEO of KIW Rail. He lasted just over two
years and left under something of a cloud, with allegations
about his management style being made against him. But in
Parliament Chris Laxon was left offending what would have to
be seen as the indefensible.

Speaker 3 (02:00):
Here he is, I'm very proud to that today we
announced an incredibly fantastic and credible plan to actually ensure
we have a resilience, safe and reliable crossing on the
Cook Straight.

Speaker 4 (02:10):
If he's so confident that the new inter Island fairies
are going to be such better value for money, why
can't he tell New Zealanders one year on how much
they're going to cost, who's going to build them, when
they're going to arrive, whether they're going to be able
to have trains on them, and what the costs for
other users is going to be.

Speaker 3 (02:25):
And that member's question just illustrates the economic illiteracy from
the other side. You don't reveal for commercial sensitive, he
reasons the actual budget.

Speaker 4 (02:34):
One year after canceling the order for the previous inter
Island fairies, will he now tell the New Zealand public
how much the decision to cancel the fairies has cost?

Speaker 3 (02:44):
As I said, our budgets are commercially sensitive for the
reasons I've just tried to outline that member the leader
of the opposition is the arsonist who lights the fire
and then criticizes the fire brigade for trying to put
it out.

Speaker 4 (02:55):
Is the Prime minister where that one of his minister's,
Minister Seymour, set on.

Speaker 2 (02:59):
The bridge today that the ferries will not be rail enabled.

Speaker 3 (03:02):
These are fairies that will be rail compatible.

Speaker 5 (03:04):
And the.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
Key isn't it there? Well, Winston's on board now and
we all know that Winston wants them to be able
to take trains on board so they can continue there.

Speaker 1 (03:18):
And does he want to be the Minister of Railways
that goes down in history as the guy who stopped
rail enablement between North and South. No, all right, and
the hakker defended its use defended in parliament today?

Speaker 2 (03:29):
Oh well, you know only yesterday. Of course, the Maori
leadership was referred to the Parliamentary Privileges Committee. So too
was the young MP that led off the hakker, So
too was Peni Henare. Now you think they would wait
and keep their own council until the Privileges Committee met,
But not Naiwa Packer. She was on Radio New Zealand

(03:50):
today she said that the hakker isn't a protest, it's
an expression of who they are and we could all
see that in their house. I mean, there was no
threat to David Timour. But if you think we've heard
the last of the haka in parliamentary debate, then think again.
Have her listened to Norewa Paker armor Indeed.

Speaker 5 (04:10):
Today we have the right to express ourselves. You cannot
huck us sitting in those squass spaces behind your bask
or your bench. It was the right to express ourselves.
Now the unruly is really the hypocrisy Obviously, that the House,
doesn't interject, doesn't yale, doesn't point, doesn't get personal, doesn't

(04:30):
call people names. For goodness sake, we're talking about parliament here.
We have had people called, you know, all sorts of name.
Coins The hacker was dignified. It was an expression again
of what and how we felt. Now is it that
place to tell us when we're allowed to be maldy
and when we're not we're allowed to express ourselves and
when we're not.

Speaker 2 (04:51):
No, it's a place where you should know how to
be an MP.

Speaker 1 (04:55):
And this is Parliament does not disallow hakker. And we've
been in parliament many times. I mean every time there's
a treaty bill that's signed or something there is a
beautiful winter or hakker. Yes, it's not disallowed. No, it's
just the crossing the floor and the waving the hands
in the face that there might be a problem.

Speaker 2 (05:13):
And Narriwapaka herself pointing a finger at David Seymour that
looked to me very like a pistol. So you know,
I mean, that is not good behavior and it should
be held to account.

Speaker 1 (05:24):
Off to privileges. They go, Barry, thank you very much
for that. Great to see you as always better to
talk to you. Senior political correspondent with us for a
wrap of the day in politics.

Speaker 4 (05:34):
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