Arrest after woman found dead in Tūrangi
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Scoop
11 hours ago
- Scoop
NZ Will Soon Have No Real Interisland Rail-ferry Link – Why Are We So Bad At Infrastructure Planning?
Another week, another Cook Strait ferry breakdown. As the winter maintenance season approaches and the Aratere prepares for its final months of service, New Zealand faces a self-imposed crisis. The government has spent NZ$507.3 million on cancelled iReX ferry plans, the country's fleet has an average age of 28 years, and the earliest New Zealanders can hope for promised replacements is 2029. The Marlborough Chamber of Commerce warns unreliable ferries already shake tourist confidence. Several more years of duct-tape solutions won't help. The recent pattern of breakdowns and cancellations has become so routine that New Zealand risks normalising what should be viewed as a national crisis: a serious infrastructure failure. It is also a textbook example of how short-term political cycles, coupled with chronic under-investment, create far more expensive problems than the ones they promise to solve. Cost blowouts While ministers claim to have spared taxpayers a $4 billion blowout on new ferries, Treasury papers show almost 80% of the cost escalation lay in seismic upgrades for wharves, not in the vessels themselves. Those land-side works will be required no matter what ferries the country eventually orders. Justifying the original contract cancellation, Finance Minister Nicola Willis quipped that iReX was a Ferrari when a Toyota Corolla would do. But the cost of finding a suitable Corolla is adding up fast. Annual maintenance costs are projected to nearly double to $65 million, just to keep the existing ageing ferries running. Additionally, $300 million had to be earmarked to cover fees for breaking the original ferry replacement contract. By retiring the Aratere this year – New Zealand's only rail-capable ferry – the government is also severing the interisland rail link for almost five years. KiwiRail will 'road-bridge' rail freight, an expensive workaround that involves loading train cars onto trucks, putting those trucks on ferries, then reversing the process at the other end. This will increase truck traffic, produce more emissions and add more wear to already strained infrastructure. Forcing more than $14 billion worth of annual freight from rail to road could also negatively affect New Zealand's climate change commitments. Freight moved by rail generates only about 25% of the CO per tonne-kilometre of the same load produced when hauled by truck. The cancelled hybrid ferries would have also cut emissions by 40%. Instead, New Zealand is locking in higher emissions for another half decade or longer. Unrealistic timelines The ferry saga reflects New Zealand's infrastructure problem in a nutshell. The country tends to underestimate costs, create unfeasible timelines, then shows dismay when projects blow up or limp home at double the price. Auckland exemplifies the pattern. The city has seen decades of cancelled harbour crossing proposals and a scrapped light rail project, with nothing to show but consultancy fees. When New Zealand does build –Transmission Gully, for example – the final bill bears little resemblance to initial quotes. The 27 kilometre motorway north of Wellington was nearly 50% over budget and took eight years to build – two years longer than promised. The systematic underestimation of costs reflects a flawed approach to infrastructure planning. Politicians need quick wins within three-year electoral cycles, while infrastructure projects take decades to deliver. Projects are approved based on lowball estimates, with the outcome inherited by another administration. This has crossed party lines and created a system that rewards short-term thinking and punishes long-term planning. Just consider the second crossing for Auckland Harbour. For 35 years, the government has commissioned study after study – from the 1988 tunnel plans to the 2010 business cases – each time backing away when the price tag appeared, or the government changed. The iReX cancellation marks the first time the government has actually signed contracts and then walked away. As with the second Auckland Harbour crossing, each delay has only made the inevitable solution more expensive. Other countries have, to a degree, addressed this problem. Infrastructure Australia, for example, provides independent cost assessments and long-term planning that transcends political cycles. New Zealand's Infrastructure Commission, established in 2019, lacks similar teeth and independence. Ultimately this isn't really about ferries. It's about how New Zealand consistently fails to deliver, on time and at cost, the infrastructure that keeps its economy moving.
Scoop
15 hours ago
- Scoop
LGNZ Urges More People To Run For Council
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is calling for more people to put their hands up to stand in this year's local elections in October. Nominations opened yesterday, with prospective candidates required to submit their nomination before the cutoff date of 12 noon on 1 August. To help potential candidates make this decision, LGNZ has produced a handy 2025 candidate's guide. LGNZ also offers a comprehensive range of pre-elected learning materials via its online learning platform, Ākona. LGNZ Chief Executive Susan Freeman-Greene says a hallmark of healthy democracy is when people are willing to represent their community around the council table. 'This year we'll have 1465 seats available across 66 councils, including 66 Mayoral seats and 683 community board seats. There will also be 127 seats up for election across the 11 regional councils,' says Susan Freeman-Greene. 'At the last local election, we had 3119 people standing across 1607 seats across the country; a ratio of almost two people for every seat. Seven mayors were elected unopposed into their roles in the last election, while 40% of members elected for the first time. 'Obviously we'd like to have more candidates standing, as evidence tells us that the more candidates who are contesting a seat, the higher the voter turnout will be. And ultimately, we want more New Zealanders heading to the polls to have their say; the 42% voter turnout at the 2022 local elections was not good enough.' Susan Freeman-Greene says that elected members can come from all walks of life. 'Being an elected member is an important and public role. There's no question it's a demanding job but it's also very rewarding. Every day councils make important decisions that impact future generations – from infrastructure investment like roads, bridges and pipes, to climate resilience.'
1News
a day ago
- 1News
Qantas cyber attack: Culprits and motive unknown
A major Australian airline will soon be able to tell the six million customers whose data was stolen by cyber criminals exactly what type of personal information was harvested. In an update on Friday, Qantas also said the group believed responsible for the incident remained unclear and that it had not received a ransom request. The hack, revealed earlier this week, occurred on a third-party system used by a call centre working for Qantas. Sensitive data such as credit card details, personal financial information, passport details and Qantas Frequent Flyer accounts were not exposed. But millions of customers did have names, dates of birth, and email addresses stolen. ADVERTISEMENT Asked by 1News whether any New Zealanders were affected, the airline would only say the "majority" of affected customers were in Australia. Qantas next week will contact customers individually to tell them exactly what type of personal data was "contained in the system" or compromised. "I want to apologise again for the uncertainty this has caused," chief executive Vanessa Hudson said in a statement. "We're committed to keeping our affected customers informed with regular updates as our investigation progresses." Qantas, which continues to work with the government authorities to investigate the incident, reaffirmed that there has been no further threat in the system and that it remains secure. Multiple cyber experts believe the group responsible for the attack is called Scattered Spider, a cabal of young cyber criminals living in the US and the UK. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation recently warned that the group was targeting the airline sector by impersonating legitimate users to bypass multi-factor authentication and access systems. ADVERTISEMENT Airlines such as America's Hawaiian Airlines and Westjet have faced cyber attacks in the past fortnight. Qantas has rolled out additional security measures to counteract any more potential threats and increase detection. These include more security measures for frequent flyer accounts by introducing "additional identification" for account changes. "We are treating this incredibly seriously and have implemented additional security measures to further strengthen our systems," Hudson said. "Our customers can be assured that we have the right expertise and resources dedicated to resolving this matter thoroughly and effectively." Qantas also warned scammers are already impersonating the airline in the wake of the attack and told customers to be vigilant. The airline will never contact customers requesting passwords, booking reference details or sensitive login information. ADVERTISEMENT "If customers do receive any suspicious emails, text messages or calls from someone purporting to be Qantas you can report this via our dedicated support line, Scamwatch, or contact local authorities," it said. In the wake of the hack, Qantas has received more than 5000 customer enquiries. Meanwhile, legal experts suggest the incident could lead to a class action against Qantas, after compensation claims were made against Optus and Medibank after major breaches in 2022.
