Port Taranaki answer to ferries foul-up
As our bureaucratic and political friends in Wellington go into a wheelspin over how to update the inter-island ferry service, it’s tempting to offer a suggestion. Why not ditch earthquake-prone Wellington and set up a blue-water highway between Picton and Port Taranaki.
Stuart Trundle, a previous Venture Taranaki boss, was pushing the idea a decade or so ago. It made sense. Much freight from the Mainland is headed for the biggest market, Auckland, so why not give it a head-start and ship it halfway there?
It looks even more doable now Mt Messenger is supposedly being bypassed (or will the new coalition government stop that, too?). Freight bound for Wellington would face a reasonable road south.
Memories of the Trundle plan were prompted by the forlorn sight of a KiwiRail man telling TVNZ news of the challenges Wellington faced with its now-abandoned, $3 billion inter-islander ferry terminal rebuild.
They would have needed piles driven 70 metres into the ground, he told us, to ensure it was safe in such an unstable earthquake zone.
Sure, New Plymouth gets occasional shakes, and we’ve built within ash-reach of a volcano, but even the replacement of Yarrow Stadium’s eastern stand on top of a swamp requires piles no longer than 30m.
As an investment, that puts our port ahead of the capital’s, and it’s easy to assume forward-thinking Port Taranaki would jump at the chance for further development. There would be hurdles. Does it have the space to handle such a big boost in trade, and how would we feel about even more big trucks rumbling through the middle of the city?
Some measures were taken to improve the road for some of that route, but the significantly better surface running from the city centre to Motoroa isn’t matched at either end. Another winter of potholes awaits.
They could consider Pātea. The windy people want to plant fields of mills offshore in South Taranaki, so if that goes ahead it would make sense to build a single new windmill servicing and freight port.
The dual purpose advantages are appealing - a port for freight that would also service what might become Taranaki’s second energy era, one that is not directly threatening to the climate.
If by chance the Trundle idea was adopted by those in power (unlikely, given Wellington holds on to its influence like a cat to prowling territory) what would happen to lesser Cook Strait traffic?
It could function more easily and cheaply without the burden of trains and heavy trucks. Smaller ferries would be enough for tourist buses, cars and people, and there’s bound to be more of those for sale around the world than the few dozen (not even actually available) that can handle the big stuff.
The coalition government have opened a can of the proverbial with their decision to quell the inter-islander financial blowout. The problem won’t go away like the abandonment of some of Labour’s other problematic notions - this one involves a portfolio as complex as health.
If you want to know how difficult it is to manage transport in this country, take a look at former transport minister Steven Joyce’s entertaining and informative memoirs, On The Record. It’s an informative read.
His attention to detail and successes (admittedly, described by him himself) in untangling the mess Labour supposedly left when John Key inherited the reins from Helen Clark in 2008, are what’s needed again now.
To achieve that for the Cook Strait ferry service, the coalition have appointed a trio of current experts to investigate and report back.
The panel will be chaired by Nelson Airport chief executive Mark Thompson and include Auckland Airport director Mark Cairns and former National Minister of health and social welfare, Roger Sowry.
It’s not clear yet which government minister will end up with the job of fixing it all.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has been having a lot to say about it, State-Owned Enterprises Minister Paul Goldsmith announced the expert panel, and Simeon Brown is Minister of Transport. That looks as messy as the ferries’ future.
There are two things to bear in mind. Taranaki’s wind era may not eventuate, given the challenge of getting its power to big users.
And New Plymouth’s truck traffic problem could be solved by building a new ring road around the city’s edges. That’s a prospect to salivate over.
Further correction: I can now state with some certainty that Heineken double zero beers can be bought at the New Plymouth Club for $5.80.
Jim Tucker is a journalist based in New Plymouth. and writer