High and dry: Picton should be considered

which is that a consent for 24/7 port operations is already in place at Shakespeare Bay, but not in Whanga¯ rei.

Additionally, a Government interim report released in April showed any investment at Northport, including a dry dock, first requires developing the train line. Marlborough, of course, already has excellent rail links, and the Kiwirail terminal is due to undergo extension work.

What the people of Whanga¯ rei will be facing to achieve a dry dock consent is a truncated, at best, Resource Management Act (RMA) process, and, as I understand it, a local council plan change.

While I don’t have an issue with a more efficient RMA process being used, it would be highly questionable whether, in the normal course of events, a consent would be granted for a 24/7 dry dock in the proposed location.

To date there has been no independent study carried out on the best location. The only study supplied was carried out by Northport and engineering firm Babcock, which operates the Devonport naval dockyard in Auckland.

Given its potential to bring $38 million to Marlborough, the minister needs to respect and follow a fair and transparent process and not treat taxpayers like a personal ATM, as we have seen with the heavily biased Provincial Growth Fund spending.

If Shakespeare Bay was not considered with the same weight as Northport in this discussion, I would consider it to be a huge loss for not just Marlborough, but the future of our shipping industry.