Winston’s port shift plan shows Government is dreaming
So now Winston Peters and his Government want to move the Ports of Auckland to Whanga¯ rei.
Such a small little thing to do that will barely cause much disruption at all. Said no-one ever.
Does anyone have any idea how ginormous this pie-in-the-sky promise really is?
Why? When? Where does the cargo go in the meantime? Has it been done before anywhere in a sane Western nation?
Done over 10 years, it would cost $10 billion, they say.
They being an expert panel who probably have no real idea, but call it a panel and it gets serious. Seriously, with Shane Jones’ wacko performance to farmers and now this out-there port wind-up, no wonder business is rightly nervous.
I applaud ambition usually, but this Government doesn’t appear to have a master plan at all. It has a series of massive work plans and ideas whose time may never come.
This port idea is shamelessly the work of Jones and Peters. It’s not just economic nationalism but is regional parochialism at its best – or worst, depending on how the future pans out.
So will the roads be upgraded north of Auckland, and what trains are needed, and how can it be done when we can’t get a passenger rail system to Auckland Airport?
Peters has spoken publicly about the port report like it’s a done deal, and the money will come shortly.
But how can this happen so easily if the same Government couldn’t build a few houses for the middle class? Taking the build out of Kiwi Build since election night 2017.
Also no gain like a capital gain, as in the tax that sunk confidence but never went anywhere. And while we are at it, so much for ETS for farmers, because Labour suddenly froze.
Anyway, the prime minister would hardly say boo about sinking the ports of Auckland into northern waters for fear of saying the wrong thing.
She hadn’t seen the report, but an hour later Winston was word for word all about it. So why was he all over it and the country’s most highprofile Auckland MP, who happens to be the PM, didn’t know anything. Is it deliberate and, if so, let’s drag her deep and demand answers.
It’s not a Government scared of trying anything and everything. Something has to work soon, if not in education, then health. If those then fail, maybe it’s in tax reform, but we know that answer, so maybe it’s on climate reform. Oh yes, the Zero Carbon Bill. That’ll do it.
I think this Government is dreaming, even on some of the small stuff. Standards and credibility matter. They need to get busy, but they need to be believable.
Their eyes are bigger than their stomachs, and I wonder how much voters can digest if it’s a repeat next year.
With Shane Jones’ wacko performance to farmers, and now this out-there port wind-up, no wonder business is rightly nervous. I applaud ambition usually, but this Government doesn’t appear to have a master plan at all. It has a series of massive work plans and ideas whose time may never come.