Strange how they can run a profitable operation on the same stretch of water as NZ Rail !
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‘They….don’t do rail.’
——
That’s one huge advantage then, isn’t it!!!!
Maybe ‘KiwiFerry’ should run ferries, because have a rail company do it and they want to stick rails on ferries & build huge terminals that have nothing to with running a ferry across the Cook Strait.
Being a student of geography, am sure you know NZ's unique geographical features combined with its climate make meaningful comparisons with other countries meaningless.
NZ's extremely long narrow geography, cut in half by one of the dangerous & unpredictable stretches of water in the world, combined with seismic activity & climate events, presents challenges unique to NZ.
Add in an extremely long road network & it's maintenance can only be funded by a relatively small population.
There have been and are examples of rail capable ferries in Asia & Europe but with new engineering technology, increasingly they are being replaced by long tunnels & bridges to carry rail. e.g. the Danyang-Kunshan in China is 164 kms long & one of China's most important rail connections.
Building a bridge over the mere 22 kilometres (at its narrowest point) of stormy Cook Strait is never going to be an option & forget about a tunnel.
NZ's long narrow geography makes rail a very appealing option as it provides an efficient way to move tons of freight from one end of the country to the other, and takes literally thousands of heavy truck & trailers off our fragile road system.
If Mainfreight's boss says Road- bridge is not viable, who am I to argue.
Rail shouldn't be judged on being run at a profit, it should be subsidised by other parts of the economy because of the overall boost to NZ inc. productivity, efficiency, cost savings to maintaining the countries road network, lowering congestion (removing thousands of heavy trucks off Wellington's motorways) meaning we don't have to keep adding more lanes to our motorways, safety for other road users etc.
Heavy trucks do so much damage to our roads which were not built for them, the cost of repairs is going to go into the billions.
Besides there's no where to park all these containers being off loaded on either side of the Strait waiting to be reloaded onto trucks to take them onto the ferries.
The trucking industry will be quite happy to see the govt has cancelled this as means more freight on the roads instead of rail as the economy grows over the coming years.
Ask yourself do you want more heavy trucks on our roads, or fewer with a good rail system.
And remember Winston & NZF are very strong backers of rail.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/gdp-fa...NQ7YMBNM3O6WE/
GDP fall shock: Finance Minister Nicola Willis blames economy shrink on Labour
Quote:
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has promised to “open the books” on the state of the country’s economy, claiming she has “inherited a toxic trifecta”.
he trifecta of tough economic conditions - high interest rates, lingering high inflation and the job and business insecurity of a recession.
The weak economic growth is expected to continue for a while, despite some record-setting recent net migration.
“We will be properly opening the books,” Willis promised following the disappointing result.
She promised that the books would be opened to the public so that the “nasty” things she claimed the previous government was hiding would be clear.
Is Robbo still staying around to have the book & worst possible Audit & Finance Inspector's report thrown at him ? ;)
Still going to the bright, industrious & lucrative isles of the Argy Republic or is that now off ? ;)
Here's an update:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/...PFT4YXCPXBPKE/
Why Argentina’s shock measures may be the best hope for its ailing economy
Your favourite intended new haunt is showing all the signs of being a totally down & out Impoverished Poverty Shocker ;)Quote:
The painful economic steps that Argentina’s new president, Javier Milei, announced this week sound draconian: Slashing the currency’s value in half. Reducing aid to provincial governments. Suspending public works. Cutting subsidies for gas and electricity. Raising some taxes.
Yet the South American country’s economy is such a basket case — and has been for so long — that many analysts believe that only such radical measures offer a realistic opportunity to rescue the economy.
Quote:
Inflation in Argentina has hit 161 per cent. Its economy is shrinking, in part because of a ruinous drought. In the past five years, its currency has lost about 90 per cent of its value against the US dollar. Its debts, including $45 billion (NZ$72.5b) that it owes the International Monetary Fund, are suffocating. One in four Argentinians lives in poverty.
Even more of the poor peasants look to be facing being screwed over harder ;)
Probably a bit further down the track there than our own Labour Incompetent Robbo had our own economy headed ;)
Just as well we have people around who are more expert & just in time before Chipkins, Robbo and the rest of clueless Goon Show put things into over the cliff mode with a total trashing of things ;)
More like it started happening and had it's roots back when Labour were in .. cycle back to Robbo's Grand Budget of Free Nothings, while Interest rates & COL flew upwards & amuck ;)
That long ago since Labour had someone with half a clue ? ;)
Housing was no problem then .. no creative interference in RRE market forces,
No Airy-fairy Arty-Farty 'I dont like RRE Interest claimed shots from the hip
from smiling Roly Poly with a large growing Fiscal hole in one and no real answers ;)
Of course everyone loved Cullen treading smooth waters, because nothing much happened
apart from GFC conveniently knifing the pet Kiwisaver new incarnation within just 2 years
of it getting given life ;)
And the poor old Kiwi peasant has never been better off as back then, with each term of new Labour Comrades managing to devalue things further in real terms ever since Cullen's days ;)