Written By:
- Date published:
3:36 pm, December 13th, 2025 - 5 comments
Categories: chris bishop, nicola willis, winston peters -
Tags: Cook Strait, Cook Strait ferries, ferries, Interislander, iRex, Tug boat
Repost from the Mountain Tui Substack
People say that Nicola Willis threw away $671 000 000 (671 million dollars) when she haphazardly cancelled our i-Rex ferries project. Against MFAT advice, she did it by SMS text to South Korean officials half an hour before the public announcement, displaying reckless diplomacy and callous disrespect to our sixth largest trading partner.
But I say she wasted much more than this approximate $700 million taxpayer loss.
Experts put that number at above $1,000,000,000 ($1000 million or $1 billion dollars), and I concur.
Winston Peters, who signed off the original i-Rex ferries contract, and didn’t say a word when National threw it all away, is now paying MORE for the Chinese made ferries than Kiwirail paid for the next generation i-Rex order from top South Korean shipmaker Hyundai.
Peters’ “no frills” ships come in at $596 million – $45 million more than the $551 million fixed price we paid for the next generation, future proofed, top shelf, hybrid i-Rex.
Peters also said he would downgrade infrastructure works on both ports, taking credit for the work completed & money invested so far in Wellington and Picton, with a smaller infrastructure bill.
People say “Why can’t we have nice things?”
It’s because of governments and politicians like this.
Last night, as news came in that National’s budget cuts see Wellington’s maritime police get 60% of their hours cut (only operating during effective business hours) and delighting criminals everywhere, while ignoring the risks to life for $90,000 in “savings”, the Kaiārahi ferry was stranded for 6 hours.
The last time Interislander was stranded with 854 passengers on board and called “Mayday”, the tug boat was commissioned to assist.
But that too has been cut –
Chris Bishop terminated the tug boat contract last month to “save money”.
Money money money – anything for corporate donors and allies, but not even cents for the average Kiwi.
Is this who we are, Aotearoa New Zealand?
Amidst the day to day struggle of dealing with the NAct1 all fronts War on NZ, that short phrase brings home for me, (and I hope many more) ,the purblind short sightedness, meanness (IMO vindictiveness) and incompetence of this NAct1 Govt.
We on the Left need to keep this, (and of course as many other examples as..) whenever Saint Wily Winnie is expounding what an essential saviour he is !
Fight Back. Kick NAct1 out 2026 !
Agree PLA you are 100%. And I particularly like Wily Winnie – that is really apt and should be adopted as The Caption for the man looking like a silver fox.
Aye GWS, Wily was just there in my mind….several Dictionary searches : Confirmed match.
I've read some of your recent comments……very wide ranging, obviously well read : )
I've pretty much always thought…it pays to keep informed.
Look after and Keep Left : )
Another, of many, reasons to have nothing to do with NZF.
Rule them out Hipkins.
I rather like having New Zealand First in the mix. Last election their local candidate spoke disparagingly of "woke, virtue-signalling socialists". I rather like that description, personally.
If nothing else, NZF makes it very clear at to what small parties in NZ politics can be like with their socially conservative, corporation-captured, vindictive policies and candidates.
Bearded Git, what other reasons do you have for your distrust of NZF when you wrote "Another, of many, reasons to have nothing to do with NZF"?