Willis’ masterclass in incompetence

The Post
12 Dec 2024

Jack McDonald


Finance Minister Nicola Willis in Parliament yesterday after her much-anticipated announcement on replacement Interislander ferries.
Nicola Willis’ handling of replacing the Interislander ferries has
been a masterclass in incompetence. Her recommendation to Cabinet to
cancel the Inter-Island Resilient Connection (iReX) project soon after
entering Government was based on the desire to find a cheaper way of
replacing the ferries.

That decision has proven to be completely misguided and has already
likely cost the country at least $300–$400 million in cancellation
penalties.

Despite signalling a decision would be announced imminently after her Ministerial Advisory Group finished its work in July, the announcement
kept getting pushed out further.

Eventually Winston Peters announced the Government was definitely
going to announce the decision in early December.

But after all that, this week, nearly a year after the cancellation,
Willis has again kicked the can down the road.

Rather than showing some leadership and making a decision to provide
some certainty for workers, business and the public, she is passing
the buck on to a new company that will be set up to undertake a
procurement process. We won’t know anything about the outcomes of that
initial procurement process until March 2025.

Not even having a semblance of a plan after a year of work is a
catastrophic failure of leadership and should put to rest any
suggestions that Willis represents the future of the National Party.
She is lucky that Christopher Luxon can’t afford to get rid of someone
so senior in his Cabinet, because she is clearly not cut out for her
position.

Using the excuse of commercial sensitivity, she won’t give the public
any information on anticipated costs, or the funding envelope that she
is setting aside for the replacement ferries. We are supposed to take
her word for it that the costs will be less than the iReX project,
even taking into account cancellation penalties.

She is also leaving the door open to some kind of public-private
partnership, which would undoubtedly drive up costs and lead to
ongoing budget blowouts.

We know from cost overruns associated with public-private partnerships
like the Transmission Gully project that they are par for the course
when the private sector is relied upon to deliver large-scale
infrastructure projects.

Perhaps most importantly, Willis refuses to commit to the new ferries
being railenabled.

That will mean that the cost of shipping across the Cook Strait will
increase significantly, the viability of South Island rail will be
undermined, and loading times will be much longer. This decision is
also likely to increase the amount of carbon emitted.
Herein lies one of the biggest issues with this whole fiasco.
We desperately need a sustainable infrastructure strategy that is
focused on the unique challenges we face as we move towards a
zero-emissions economy.

But instead of recognising that reality, the Government is ignoring
its climate commitments when it comes to infrastructure and economic investment.

It is pinning its hopes on extractive industries that contribute very
little to our domestic economy.

It makes no economic sense investing in sunset industries like oil,
gas and mining where profits and jobs mostly head offshore.
Rather than investing in infrastructure that supports public and
active transport, and on protecting our existing transport routes from
extreme weather events, National is doubling down on the only thing it
knows how to do, building more motorways.

This week also saw the release of the Green Party’s alternative
emissions reduction plan, which recommends investment in sustainable
industry alongside a significant green infrastructure building
programme, overseen through the establishment of a Ministry of Green
Works.

It also proposes to establish a Future Workforce Agency with a focus
on workforce planning and ensuring full employment through a “Green
Jobs Guarantee”.

Proactive planning for a just transition to a zero-emissions economy
is critically important to ensure that no worker is left behind.
The Greens recognise that successful emissions reduction policies
require economic transformation. In the words of co-leader Chlöe
Swarbrick, “climate change is a fundamentally economic problem”.
The plan is a useful contribution to the public policy debate on
climate change and sustainable infrastructure at a time when the
Government is taking us backwards and can’t even guarantee a safe,
reliable and cost-effective transport route between our two major
islands.

Jack

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Rich80105 <Rich80105@hotmail.com> wrote:

Willis’ masterclass in incompetence

The Post
12 Dec 2024

Jack McDonald

Finance Minister Nicola Willis in Parliament yesterday after her >much-anticipated announcement on replacement Interislander ferries.
Nicola Willis’ handling of replacing the Interislander ferries has
been a masterclass in incompetence. Her recommendation to Cabinet to
cancel the Inter-Island Resilient Connection (iReX) project soon after >entering Government was based on the desire to find a cheaper way of >replacing the ferries.

That decision has proven to be completely misguided and has already
likely cost the country at least $300–$400 million in cancellation
penalties.

Despite signalling a decision would be announced imminently after her >Ministerial Advisory Group finished its work in July, the announcement
kept getting pushed out further.

Eventually Winston Peters announced the Government was definitely
going to announce the decision in early December.

But after all that, this week, nearly a year after the cancellation,
Willis has again kicked the can down the road.

Rather than showing some leadership and making a decision to provide
some certainty for workers, business and the public, she is passing
the buck on to a new company that will be set up to undertake a
procurement process. We won’t know anything about the outcomes of that >initial procurement process until March 2025.

Not even having a semblance of a plan after a year of work is a
catastrophic failure of leadership and should put to rest any
suggestions that Willis represents the future of the National Party.
She is lucky that Christopher Luxon can’t afford to get rid of someone
so senior in his Cabinet, because she is clearly not cut out for her >position.

Using the excuse of commercial sensitivity, she won’t give the public
any information on anticipated costs, or the funding envelope that she
is setting aside for the replacement ferries. We are supposed to take
her word for it that the costs will be less than the iReX project,
even taking into account cancellation penalties.

She is also leaving the door open to some kind of public-private
partnership, which would undoubtedly drive up costs and lead to
ongoing budget blowouts.

We know from cost overruns associated with public-private partnerships
like the Transmission Gully project that they are par for the course
when the private sector is relied upon to deliver large-scale
infrastructure projects.

Perhaps most importantly, Willis refuses to commit to the new ferries
being railenabled.

That will mean that the cost of shipping across the Cook Strait will
increase significantly, the viability of South Island rail will be >undermined, and loading times will be much longer. This decision is
also likely to increase the amount of carbon emitted.
Herein lies one of the biggest issues with this whole fiasco.
We desperately need a sustainable infrastructure strategy that is
focused on the unique challenges we face as we move towards a
zero-emissions economy.

But instead of recognising that reality, the Government is ignoring
its climate commitments when it comes to infrastructure and economic >investment.

It is pinning its hopes on extractive industries that contribute very
little to our domestic economy.

It makes no economic sense investing in sunset industries like oil,
gas and mining where profits and jobs mostly head offshore.
Rather than investing in infrastructure that supports public and
active transport, and on protecting our existing transport routes from >extreme weather events, National is doubling down on the only thing it
knows how to do, building more motorways.

This week also saw the release of the Green Party’s alternative
emissions reduction plan, which recommends investment in sustainable
industry alongside a significant green infrastructure building
programme, overseen through the establishment of a Ministry of Green
Works.

It also proposes to establish a Future Workforce Agency with a focus
on workforce planning and ensuring full employment through a “Green
Jobs Guarantee”.

Proactive planning for a just transition to a zero-emissions economy
is critically important to ensure that no worker is left behind.
The Greens recognise that successful emissions reduction policies
require economic transformation. In the words of co-leader Chlöe
Swarbrick, “climate change is a fundamentally economic problem”.
The plan is a useful contribution to the public policy debate on
climate change and sustainable infrastructure at a time when the
Government is taking us backwards and can’t even guarantee a safe,
reliable and cost-effective transport route between our two major
islands.

Jack

What a load of cobblers.
Trade Union officials like McDonald are the only people I know who have as little credibility as you. No wonder you post their rubbish.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)