By Professor John Robertson
From the NZ Herald today:
KiwiRail only terminated its mega ferry ship-building contract after receiving a letter from Finance Minister Nicola Willis and two months after the Government pulled the plug on the project.
A scheme to replace the current ageing Interislander fleet with two larger ships was left dead in the water in December after costs for the overall project, including new terminals and wharf upgrades, ballooned to almost $3b and the new Government refused to fund the blowout.
However, KiwiRail took until February 14 to announce it was terminating the $551m fixed-price contract with Hyundai Mipo Dockyard to build the ferries.
There is now a negotiation process to go through with HMD around cancelling the contract, which will also determine any costs KiwiRail is liable for.
How much might it cost to cancel a $3bn contract after design and the ordering of materials is underway? I’m no expert but 10% or $300 million?
What will the islanders do as the aging troubled ferries literally drift onto the rocks as they have nearly done before?
What will the NZ media accuse the NZ Government of?
Imagine this was in Scotland?
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
British Broadcasting to Colonies no longer serve New Zealand, which escaped the yoke many years ago.
Gaslighting victim-mongering alongside the Moving Feckin’ Finger of fake……….”journalism” no longer points at Dunedin, only Auld Embro’.
Tripe Hype brought to U from a Joke Bloke and a Blame Dame at Specific Pee.
Cough up your £180 for this utter sh!te——and weep!
gavinochiltree
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Pee being polite for PISH.
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The current NZ government is very right wing and public investment does not bring enough profit to the rentier class. Ergo, in the U.K. media this is good.
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The ”ageing ” CalMac ferries will be retired as new ships join the fleet .
Any bets that some other ferry company will snap them up and use them for many more years ? Will the BBC/STV Ferry Correspondents cover this story and attack the ”unreliability” of these vessels ?
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While all attention is focused upon an “Act” that the Scottish parliament passed in 2021....via all of the recent UK media attention, uber opposition and condemnation from Randoms and too high profile peeps…and also public (tactical and orchestrated) protests outside Holyrood
What say, all of these same people who are up in arms in respect to the Hate Crime & Public Order Bill in Scotland, in respect to a Tory bill in the HOC that could criminalise rough sleepers if they cause a nuisance ?
Measures in the Criminal Justice Bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament, seek to replace the 1824 Vagrancy Act.
The government has promised to repeal the law, which makes begging and rough sleeping a criminal offence.
The new bill would allow police to move on “nuisance” rough sleepers and, if they do not comply, issue a fine or arrest them.
The Criminal Justice Bill was introduced to Parliament by Suella Braverman, who branded rough sleeping a “lifestyle choice” when she was home secretary.
Homelessness charity Crisis urged the home secretary to listen to MPs and “drop these cruel and unnecessary measures”.
So is and will this new Tory bill that is targeting vulnerable people also considered “controversial” and thus “worthy of widespread UK uproar” , via the backlash that ensued via the Hate Crime & Public Order Act in Scotland that we have witnessed via the media and too from serial objectors, both high profile peeps and Randoms, and will it see JKR champion the rights of homeless people in opposing this Tory bill……with the media behind her, JKR, in giving it , as an actual heinous Tory Bill, a 24 hour (and more) broadcasting extravaganza.
OMG they, the serial objectors to all they associate as connected to (only) the SNP say (but re the Hate Crime Act it was actually passed by members from all political parties excepting Tories)….”one could be imprisoned for inciting hate”…..meanwhile in Tory world via the Tory UK government a homeless person aka a vulnerable person will face real Hate and persecution in a bill generated by the Tories as the UK Government
Crisis stated:
“The Bill contain new powers for police and local authorities to enforce against so-called ‘nuisance rough sleeping’ in England and Wales. These powers include being moved on, a fine up to £2,500 and even imprisonment”……”None of us should be criminalised for being homeless. Poverty pushes people into homelessness and the fact that homelessness exists in 2024 is a failure of Government policy”.
“This Bill would criminalise and dehumanise those of us that have been failed by a system that should keep all of us safe. Email your MP now to help us stop it”.
So let’s see all of the protests outside the HOC upon this Tory Bill and also a video via Jonathan Pie slating this Tory Homeless people Bill with perhaps an addition of him attempting some accent associated with England as he saw fit to do when slating the Hate Crime Act….where he chose to put on an (unnecessary) Scottish accent….though what significance, him putting on a Scottish accent, gave to his argument as in his opposition to the Hate Crime Act to give his opposition more credibility is lost on me, and of course let’s also hear from the only living author (Children’s one) that the media wait with bated breath to hear what SHE thinks on anything and everything…in respect to this Tory Bill….considering she is always so very very vocal on political matters one would expect a very similar reaction from her to her recent outpourings on a Bill via the Scottish parliament….surely.
Crisis also stated “We should treat people who are homeless with dignity and humanity – not with the threat of police action“……will the UK media then, give as much publicity and support to a homeless person daring the Police to arrest them for breaching this new Tory Bill if this “Act” is indeed passed….. as they gave to JKR in her daring the Police in Scotland to arrest her based on what she said would breach , via her Twitter outpourings against the Trans community, the Scottish Hate Crime & Public Order Act…..well in the current anti SNP climate where some will say and do anything to generate negative publicity for the Scottish government, the SNP and our FM…..I suspect it will be “All quiet on the English Bills Front” or rather less outrage reported by the media……all in order for their UK to be sustained and too for those who do their bit to ensure it is…..like….JKR.
NMRN
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O/T
Labour councillor Audrey Dempsey warned of “rising racist attacks on white children and teachers” in the city’s schools. A spokesperson said in a pompous rebuttal that the comment was “not reflective of the view of the Labour Party.”
” “not reflective of the view of the Labour Party.”…yet came from the mouth from one who is a Labour Councillor !
Details of the remark from councillor Audrey Dempsey were included in an agenda for a meeting of the Labour group on Glasgow Council.
The Labour Springburn and Robroyston councillor had tabled one on “racist attacks on teachers.” It read: “To ask the relevant Convenor if they [are] aware of the rising racist attacks on white children and teachers in our schools and how do they plan to tackle this?”
Hmm…would this be connected to recent complaints generated to the Police in respect to Humza Yousaf as supposedly breaching the Hate Crime & Public Order (Scotland) Act….where Audrey was oblivious to (or obscuring) that the same remarks were made by her party leader Anas Sarwar in the chamber at Holyrood in respect to him, Sarwar, stating all high profile positions in Scotland were held by “white people” and then him asking “Why” ?
I am sure that the BBC will be all over this….though when I searched on Google ‘BBC Audrey Dempsey” there was nowt and also on the BBC website via Scotland & Scotland Politics….nowt came up there either…Hmm.
NMRN
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https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/southeast-asia/thailand-ferry-fire-passengers-koh-tao-latest-news-b2523215.html
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Meanwhile in Thailand…
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-asia-68731765
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