John MacDonald: Hey Winston! More fairy dust, less bull dust please

When Finance Minister Nicola Willis said “I have delivered” yesterday —after announcing the Government’s so-called plan for the Cook Strait ferries— what she really meant was: “I’ve had a gutsful of this lot fighting over it and I’m out.”  

She was throwing her arms in the air because she’s had enough of NZ First and ACT squabbling over what should happen with the ferries, and so she went to the Prime Minister and said, “I’m done”. She said to Christopher Luxon, “if Winston thinks he can do better, then let him do it”.  

And, as of yesterday, he is apparently going to do it in his new role as Minister of Rail.  

That’s my theory on how things have played out behind the scenes in the lead-up to yesterday, but the evidence is there.  

Because it’s obvious, isn’t it, that there’s been a spat in Cabinet. Which is why they’ve managed to do absolutely nothing over the past 12 months.  

They’ve been squabbling over whether they should get ferries capable of transporting trains. And they’ve been squabbling over whether the ferry service should continue to be a government-run thing or whether it should be handed over to the private sector, which is what David Seymour wants.  

He thinks Bluebridge runs a pretty good operation, so why couldn't another private operator do the same?  

But, either way, I reckon even died-in-the-wool National supporters can’t deny that this ferry thing has turned into a real cluster, and what happened yesterday was a circus.  

And everyone sitting around that Cabinet table should be hanging their heads in shame.   

The big negotiators. The big talkers. It’s come to nothing and it’s going to be the second half of next year before we have any idea what’s going to happen, and 2029 before we see any new ferries. And that’s probably being pretty optimistic.  

It was Winston Peters who got the iRex project underway in the first place when he was in government with Labour between 2017 and 2020.  

On Newstalk this morning he admitted that he’s even embarrassed by how it’s all played out, but he's the guy who's going to fix, apparently.  

There was no information forthcoming yesterday about the trains being capable of carrying trains or not. Nothing about the cost. And Winston Peters wasn’t budging on that when he spoke on radio today, either.   

"Help is on its way," is all he would say.  

All this bravado a year after Nicola Willis pulled the plug on the iRex project, saying it had gone way over budget and she was going to come up with a cheaper alternative.  

Remember her banging on about getting a Toyota Corolla inter-island ferry service, instead of the Ferrari service she said the iRex project had become?  

Well, it was all talk. We don’t even have a Toyota Corolla. We’ve got a Hillman Hunter - and that’s being kind to the clapped out ferries that are servicing Cook Strait at the moment. It’s also being unkind to Hillman Hunters.  

And we will be using the Hillman Hunters until at least 2029 because of the Government's inaction.  

What a circus.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Canterbury Morning's Podcast with John McDonald
from News Talk ZB.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
When Finance Minister Nikola Willis when she said I have
delivered yesterday after announcing the government's so called plan for
the Corkstraight Fairies, what she really meant to say was
I've had a gut full of the slot fighting over
it and I am out of here. I'm out. She
was throwing her arms in the air because she's had

(00:36):
enough of New Zealand first and acts squabbling over what
should happen with the fairies. And what she did is
she went to the Prime Minister and said I'm done.
I am done with this lot. She said, if Winston
Peters is what she said to Christoph luxon if Winston
Peters thinks he can do a better job than let
him do it, and as of yesterday he is apparently

(00:58):
going to do it and his new role as Minister
of Rail. That's my theory on how things have played
out behind the scenes and the lead up to yesterday.
But the evidence is there because it's obvious, isn't it.
There's been spat in the cabinet, which is why they
have managed to do absolutely nothing over the past twelve

(01:20):
months when it comes to the inter island ferries, they've
been squabbling, squabbing over whether they should get fairies capable
of carrying trains, and they've been squabbling over whether the
ferry service should actually continue to be a government run
thing or a government funded thing, or whether it should
be handed over to the private sector, which is what

(01:40):
David Seymour wants. As you said on the news last
night last night, Bluebridge they run a pretty good operation
private outfit. Why couldn't another private operator do the same.
But either way, either way, I reckon even died in
the all National supporters can't deny that this ferry thing

(02:01):
has turned into a real cluster. And what happened yesterday
was well, describe it how you want. The Greens are
saying it's in omni shambles, a Labour says it's astounded.
Both of those fit as far as I'm concerned. Also,
as far as I'm concerned, everybody's sitting around that cabinet

(02:22):
table should be hanging their heads in shame because this
is an absolute circus. The big negotiators, the big talkers,
it's come to nothing and it's going to be the
second half of next year, before we have any idea
of what's going to happen in twenty twenty nine, before
we see any new fairies, and that's probably been pretty optimistic. Kay.

(02:47):
Now it was Winston Peters, so he's done a bit
of a full circle. There was him who got the
doomed I REX project underway in the first place when
he was in government with labor back and between twenty
seventeen and twenty twenty. He was talking to Heather earlier
this morning and he admitted that he is even embarrassed
by how it's all played out.

Speaker 3 (03:07):
I'm the guy that started the deal, yes, but they
didn't do the deal that I askedn't do They end
up in twenty twenty one buying these two fairies with
enormous cost of infrastructure heading towards four billion dollars according
to Treasury and rising. And you're telling me it's embarrassing.
Of course, it's embarrassing. It's embarrassing to all of us.
But I'm here to fix it, and I'm going to

(03:27):
fix it.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
He's going to fix it. So I just rewind a
little bit. It was a year ago, wasn't it, when
we had Nikola Willis ripping up the Irex contract, saying
it had gone way over budget, up to as much
as four billion. We're here in this morning, and you
know she was going to come up with a cheaper
alternative and it was all going to happen by the
end of this year. You know, remember her banging on
about getting a Toyota Corolla Andreiland ferry service instead of

(03:50):
the Ferrari service that the project had become under labor,
Remember that, But it was all talk. We don't even
have the prospect of a Toyota Corolla. We've got a
helmet hunter and that's been generous to the fear. Is
that a servicing cookstrait at the moment it's also being
very ungenerous or unkind to hillman hunters. And we're going

(04:13):
to be using these hillman hunters until at least twenty
twenty nine. After yesterday's announcement of an announcement of an
announcement by the government. There was nothing about them being
capable of carrying trains or not. Nothing about the cost.
And Winston, you might have heard him earlier with Heather,
he wasn't budging on that when he spoke to Heather.

Speaker 3 (04:35):
Well, now, why would I possibly do that, given that
we've got to look at all aspects of this, including
potential rescue boats in the sound so to speak, or
in the cook straight because all this infrastructure has been
let go all the time, and here we've got a
massive job in front of us, and to rush out
and say what we're going to do is start saying

(04:56):
what we're going to buy them for is to set
the bottom price from which the ship builders will start
increasing their profits. And we're not going to make those
of the mistakes because it's a bad business.

Speaker 1 (05:06):
Ain't they gonna do that anyway?

Speaker 2 (05:07):
I mean, even let's say you're negotiating with the Swedish guys,
they're just going to hit the Google and find out
that there's nine hundred million to play with.

Speaker 3 (05:15):
Well, they can hit the Google as long as I like,
but they won't be finding as nine hundred million. Okay, Okay,
I just told you that. I told you that three
times and you're repeating it for full time. See what's
wrong with the zealous media here? You just go keep
on reporting a total.

Speaker 2 (05:27):
Crap, what a flaming circus. I can't put it, you know,
I could describe it in clever ways eloquent ways. But
that's how I feel. This very thing has become a
flaming circus.

Speaker 1 (05:43):
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