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The Nat Love Affair with Helicopters

Posted by Sue Moroney on July 27th, 2010

What is it about National’s Tertiary Education Ministers and Helicopters?

First off, we had Anne Tolley taking the tertiary sector literally when they suggested she should take a “helicopter view” of the sector -she had them stump up for a costly ride in a chopper over Auckland.

Now, we have Steven Joyce telling the country that he would prefer fund helicopter trips for commuters between Hamilton and Auckland than to subsidise a passenger train service between the two cities.

He seemed to have borrowed Simon Power’s strategy of heavily inflating the cost to the taxpayer, so he could justify his idealogical postition against trains and for more and more roads. Joyce claimed the  train would cost $15-16,000 per trip which is complete rubbish.

Power used this tactic to try to justify the closing down of Hamilton’s successful trial youth justice facility, Te Hurihanga.

Maybe they just think people can’t do maths in Hamilton. Sonething of a miscalculation, if you excuse the pun.

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Filed under: Hamilton, Rail, Uncategorized, education, infrastructure, transport, waikato
15 Comments

Controlling our own future: Kiwi Jobs Bill

Posted by Clare Curran on July 14th, 2010

I believe that New Zealand can only control its own future with strong, sustainable local industries. I would imagine that everyone reading this would agree, even if we don’t agree on how you get them.

Today I released the Kiwi Jobs Bill (PDF link), my first Private Members Bill which aims to maximise opportunities for competitive local businesses when tendering for large government projects.

The Bill establishes a Commission of Inquiry to compare government procurement policies in Australia and other comparable jurisdictions, to determine whether the NZ Government can have a policy that gives preference to local procurement without breaching our international trade obligations.

The Commission of Inquiry would have a deadline of six months to report to Parliament and the Minister for Economic Development would be required to decide within 30 days how its recommendations could be implemented.

New Zealand industries should be given the best possible chance of taking up new work within our shores by getting full, fair and reasonable opportunities to compete for tenders and major projects.

The Kiwi Jobs Bill is timely and important to provide encouragement and certainty to New Zealand industries that their skills and capabilities are important to our nation and our economic future.

Currently we have a situation with KiwiRail about to embark on a formal tender process to build 13 electric locomotives and 114 ‘cars’ for the electrification of Auckland rail.

Both KiwiRail and the government have ignored the strong independent economic case by reputable Berl Economics detailing the benefits of having Auckland’s new trains built in New Zealand, which could create up to 1275 new jobs.

It is currently unlikely that the tender document will contain a preference clause giving a stronger weighting to a build that includes Kiwi content.”

Most of our trading partners  have clauses giving preference to local companies in tendering for government contracts

These government procurement policies recognise that value for money is about a broader economic benefit and not just about lowest price.

Many New Zealand industries would receive a boost from such a policy, including manufacturing, engineering and ICT.

The most pressing example is obviously KiwiRail’s Hillside and Woburn workshops, whose skills and capacity would be taken more seriously with preference given to local content, in building trains for Auckland.

If we want to build the NZ economy, and one of the main ways to do that is to ensure our local industries are given maximum opportunities to flourish.

Instead, will we see a situation where the National Government will accept only the lowest-cost bid, or a bid from a big overseas company writing Kiwi skills off as irrelevant and ignoring them.

National is reviewing its procurement policies, but the review appears more motivated by saving money than by maximising opportunities to local industry and thereby boosting our economy.

I think it’s time we gave ourselves a better chance. I hope you will support the Bill.

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Filed under: Labour Party, Manufacturing, Rail, comms & IT, economy, jobs
35 Comments

Poll result

Posted by Clare Curran on June 18th, 2010

Last week Red Alert published its first poll.

The question was:  Should Auckland’s new trains be built in NZ?

The results were:

  • Yes (75%, 534 Votes)
  • No (25%, 176 Votes)
    Total Voters: 710

A fairly resounding result and a high response rate we think.

There were 53 comments and a very thoughful discussion about the issues around kiwi content in large government contracts and the capacity of NZ to build carriages and engines.
As you’ll see below we have another poll running and plan to run them three times a week on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays.
We welcome your suggestions for polls.
Clare

Filed under: #OpenLabourNZ, Manufacturing, Rail, Red Alert, blogs, comms & IT, infrastructure, jobs, polling
22 Comments

Something new on Red Alert

Posted by Clare Curran on June 9th, 2010

We have just added a poll function. The first one is below. You have a week to respond. I hope you will.

You can send us suggestions for future polls. You know the rules.

Should Auckland's new trains be built in NZ?

  • Yes (75%, 537 Votes)
  • No (25%, 177 Votes)

Total Voters: 714

Loading ... Loading ...
Filed under: Manufacturing, Rail, economy, infrastructure, jobs, polling
55 Comments

Is this an important issue or what?

Posted by Clare Curran on June 8th, 2010

Hillside March 001

Today nearly two hundred plucky workers from Hillside Engineering in Dunedin joined by dozens of cold, wet but staunch fellow Dunedin-ites stood in the Octagon in a freezing southerly to tell the National Government that we need a strong rail industry.

Kiwi jobs for kiwi workers was the message, along with Can we build trains in Dunedin? Yes we can is the answer. At a competitive price. And in NZ Inc’s interests.

The case has been made. We have the skills and the capability. If we can’t compete on labour costs with the likes of China, we certainly can on quality and whole of life costs. And ability to deliver on time. The case for kiwi content stacks up.

Across New Zealand, people think it’s important that we build here, rather than go overseas. It’s a no brainer. Especially right now. We need to build confidence in our homegrown industry. We need to retain a manufacturing base. It’s at the heart of Dunedin’s economy, let alone important for the rest of NZ.

Why should the profit go elsewhere? At the very least, the bulk of the actual work should be done here even if we don’t hold the contract.

The EOI contains a limp clause about NZ content. It’s not good enough. There are two particular people standing in the way of NZ’s rail engineering industry having a future. Transport Minister Steven Joyce and Kiwirail CEO Jim Quinn. Neither of them believe in rail’s future. Both are trying to talk it down and to cast those who do support it as emotional rail enthusiasts.

Interesting, given the huge resurgence that rail is having elsewhere in the world.  Quinn has a job to do. Joyce has a political imperative. The thing about Joyce is that he’s too cold, too clinical and economic rationalists don’t always resonate.

And he’s made a mistake. He slagged off at Kiwi skills. And he hasn’t even bothered to come and have a look at Hillside.

Leaving aside jokes about animal behaviour, if Steven Joyce can’t make it to Dunedin to have a look at Hillside’s ability to manufacture trains, then he’s chicken. It’s obviously not a priority.

Today Labour had five MPs at the rally. Myself, Pete Hodgson and David Parker from Dunedin. Trevor Mallard from Hutt South (where Kiwirail has its Woburn workshops) and Darren Hughes, Labour’s Transport spokesperson. Phil Goff sent his apologies and his support along with a bunch of other Labour MPs.

Labour thinks that Kiwi content should have preference in the tender for the carriages and engines for Auckland’s rail system.

What does the Government think? Is this important or isn’t it?

So Steven, come to Dunedin. Are you chicken or what?

Watch this clip from Local Channel 9 to see footage  from today’s rally

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Filed under: Manufacturing, Rail, economy, infrastructure, jobs, transport
110 Comments

The logic of losing KiwiRail in the north

Posted by David Shearer on May 19th, 2010

Despite the $750 million announcement for KiwiRail, the Auckland-Northland rail link appears to be under threat. I can’t understand the logic.

Steven Joyce is intent on building the ‘Holiday Highway’ from Puhoi to Wellsford – a road with a negative cost-benefit ratio – at a cost of up to $2.1 billion as part of his Roads of National (Party) Significance. That’s three times the amount he is spending on the KiwiRail nationally.

Here’s the incomprehensible part –
- the reason for the Holiday Highway is to optimise movement and freight to the north. Cutting the rail link simply shifts freight on to our roads. (It occurs to me that maybe that’s part of the Joyce masterplan to lift the Holiday Highway’s negative BCR.)

- increasing heavy trucks on these roads and congesting it further for other motorists raises safety issues, another reason he has cited for the Holiday Highway. Obviously much of that pressure could be relieved with more freight going by rail.

- our deepest – and alternative main port – is at Marsden Point. The rail link there is strategically very important.

Yes the rail line needs some long overdue upgrades, but the potential is enormous.

Btw, what KiwiRail appears to be doing is making small, non-headline grabbing improvements to rail that should greatly lift its efficiency. That same strategy for SH1 in the north would result in much more cost-effective improvements: a diversion around Warkworth for example, or straightening and widening other parts of SH1 would remove the need for a brand new motorway and at a fraction of the cost.

Non-headline grabbing I said. I guess that’s not so attractive National’s new Mr Think-Big.

Filed under: Rail, Uncategorized, infrastructure, transport
39 Comments

Keeping Kiwi jobs Kiwi#2

Posted by Clare Curran on May 9th, 2010

Solid support on the doorsteps of Dunedin yesterday for the right for Dunedin’s Hillside workshops to bid for the work to build Auckland’s electric trains. Even people who identified as National Party voters signed the railworkers’ petition.

Steven Joyce  made a mistake this week when he dismissed the capability of NZ’s rail workers to build locos and units for Auckland.

NZers do have faith in Kiwi skills and Kiwi ingenuity. This government doesn’t and they aren’t interested in creating Kiwi jobs.

If you support the railworkers at Hillside and the Hutt to get this work, download the petition here, print and get as many signatures as you can.

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Filed under: Auckland, Manufacturing, Rail, jobs
23 Comments

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