A new electric tractor has been unveiled for use at the Lincoln University Energy Farm.

Sourced from the Netherlands, the Knegt 404G2E 55HP tractor will be a critical component of the Lincoln University Energy Farm, and will be key to the farm achieving its goal of being fossil fuel-free.

The Energy Farm will comprise a solar array of around 2800 photovoltaic (PV) panels generating ~2.3 GWh of renewable energy per year. The installation will be the first in New Zealand to demonstrate high-value agrivoltaics, with the production of premium horticulture crops like blueberries alongside the generation of commercial-scale solar energy.

The purchase of the Knegt 404G2E tractor was made possible by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) Demonstration Fund, Meridian Energy and Power Turf New Zealand.

Lincoln University presented the tractor at the Lincoln Community Day hosted on campus on September 22 and it will also be on show at the Smart Christchurch Innovation Expo being held at Te Pae on September 27 and 28.

A Hawke’s Bay farming leader says plans to axe school bus routes in the region could end up gutting rural communities. 

The Ministry of Education is ending a number of rural bus runs, and restructuring others, that take students to Napier and Hastings.

Hawke’s Bay Federated Farmers president Jim Galloway says the rural families affected are both outraged and devastated. 

“Making these cuts to rural school bus routes will make it incredibly difficult for farming and rural families to send their kids to school each day. 

“There’s a real risk we’ll see more and more rural families moving into town for schooling, although I’m certain our towns don’t need more people moving there.

“Getting your kids to school each day to receive a decent education is pretty bloody important.” 

One community affected is Te Pōhue, about 40 minutes’ drive from Napier, where residents are scrambling to figure out what they’ll do when the bus service ends. 

“Although locals successfully fought to delay the bus cuts until the end of the year, we’ve already seen one family leave the community over the issue,” Galloway says.

“That’s four kids gone, taking the local school down from 19 students to 15. If more families follow suit, we’ll see serious knock-on effects.

“Farmers will struggle to find new farm staff and people will be put off purchasing properties in rural areas. This could totally gut the community.”

In another community, Putorino, secondary school students will face an hour-long drive just to get on a bus, and the same on the way back home.

“That’s four hours a day for parents to drive to and from the bus, which makes life very, very hard if you’re trying to work or run a business,” Galloway explains.

“To add insult to injury, there’s a family up there trying to get their son into Napier Boys’ High School as a boarder next year – but it’s full. 

“Some people say, ‘just home-school the kids’, but that doesn’t suit many children or parents and isn’t that easy.”

The Ministry of Education says its review of bus services in Napier and Hastings found a number of students using the services are ineligible.

This is because they’re not attending their closest school and/or they have other public transport options.  

“The closest secondary school would be William Colenso College, but most of these students are going to other high schools only a few minutes down the road,” Galloway says. 

“What difference does it make if they travel a few hundred metres down the road to a school they’d rather go to?” 

Galloway takes issue with another Ministry rule that students in Years 1-8 must live at least 3.2km from the school, and students in Years 9-13 at least 4.8km from the school, to qualify for transport. 

“That means some of these kids will have to make their own way to school by biking or walking along some very busy roads. 

“Who would want their five- or six-year-old walking along State Highway 5 with no footpaths on a dark winter’s morning?

“It’s potentially very dangerous.”

Galloway says the Ministry doesn’t give communities enough notice when it makes changes to school bus routes. 

“They normally give one to two terms’ notice if a route is changing, which is totally inadequate. 

“You need way more time than that – at least one year’s notice – to work out how the hell you’re going to get your kids to school.

“Also, if route changes are made part-way through the year, causing students to change schools, it could really disrupt their education.”

The issue has left members of Hawke’s Bay Federated Farmers executive fuming. 

“We had a meeting recently and the team were just totally wound up about this,” Galloway says.

“One of them said, ‘our communities are screwed’ – although he used less polite language than that. 

“Living in the country is one thing, but not having access to education is totally unacceptable.” 

Galloway hopes it’s not too late for the Ministry of Education to change its mind about axing the bus runs. 

“Federated Farmers are working on getting the Ministry to be much fairer about any changes and to spend more time listening to affected communities.

“I believe the Ministry needs to review its criteria for who’s eligible for transport, and they need to give communities a lot more notice if they do make changes. 

“Here’s hoping they listen to reason,” Galloway says. 

Federated Farmers, New Zealand’s leading independent rural advocacy organisation, has established a news and insights partnership with AgriHQ, the country’s leading rural publisher, to give the farmers of New Zealand a more informed, united and stronger voice. Federated Farmers news and commentary appears each week in its own section of the Farmers Weekly print edition and online.

Miraka has launched New Zealand’s first green hydrogen dual-fuel milk collection tanker as part of its kaitiakitanga objectives.

It is expected to achieve a significant reduction in milk collection transport CO2 emissions.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from on-farm milk collection has been a key goal for the Māori-owned, Taupō-based dairy company.  

The Miraka dairy plant already has one of the world’s lowest manufacturing carbon emissions footprints, emitting 92%less CO2 than traditional coal-fired dairy factories.

Agriculture Minister Todd McClay attended the launch ceremony, turning the key on the 700hp Volvo green hydrogen-diesel dual-fuel milk collection tanker at the Miraka dairy plant at Mokai, northwest of Taupō.

Miraka chair Bruce Scott said the introduction of the green hydrogen dual-fuel milk collection tanker marks a significant milestone for Miraka.

“This new vehicle aligns with our founders’ kaitiakitanga vision and values and our commitment to environmental care, supporting Aotearoa New Zealand’s transition to a low-carbon future.”

Miraka CEO Karl Gradon said while hydrogen-powered vehicles are still an emerging technology, he believes green hydrogen represents the most environmentally appropriate energy source for heavy freight.

“Our green hydrogen dual-fuel tanker is designed to reduce milk collection CO2 emissions by approximately 35% per vehicle, benefitting te taiao, the environment and our community.

The green hydrogen dual-fuel tanker will cover 165,000km a year. It has the capacity to haul 58 metric tonnes and requires two hydrogen refills daily. 

A year ago today Miraka, along with its milk tanker supplier, Central Transport, and Halcyon Power entered into a partnership to establish a rural hydrogen hub, which Gradon hopes one day to expand nationwide.

“Launching our first green hydrogen dual-fuel milk collection tanker one year later is a tremendous achievement which we look forward to seeing rolled out across the fleet,” he said.

Tūaropaki Trust, a cornerstone shareholder in Miraka, provides geothermal energy and steam for the Miraka dairy plant through its Mokai Power Station.

 Under a joint venture partnership with Japan’s Obayashi Corporation, Tūaropaki established Halcyon Power, New Zealand’s first commercial-scale green hydrogen plant. 

Halcyon will supply the green hydrogen for the new tanker from its facility, which is adjacent to the Miraka dairy plant.

Tūaropaki general manager of culture and legacy Tahana Tippett-Tapsell said the hub embodies the trust’s vision of a sustainable circular economy and its guiding principle “to look after the land and the land will look after you”.

“The developments here at Mokai show that our investment in geothermal energy for process heat, clean power generation and green hydrogen production can be a low-emissions contributor to our economy.  Halcyon Power is a proud supporter of this drive.

We look forward to the trust’s investment contributing to the success of our owners and their descendants,” Tippett-Tapsell said.

If good road access is the lifeblood of our rural districts, then Wairoa is being bled dry, Allan Newton says.

“The economic prosperity of this region is being strangled,” the Federated Farmers Gisborne-Wairoa arable chair says.

Poor road access, sky-high freight costs, and “three and a half seasons where it just hasn’t stopped raining” have hammered Wairoa’s maize growers.

Newton says Wairoa’s roading issues aren’t new – and seem to be getting worse. 

“Labour leader Chris Hipkins said roads into the Wairoa region weren’t up to scratch even before Cyclone Gabrielle hit.  

“Now we’ve got a new Government that many farmers put their faith in, but all we can see is a sea of road cones, with little progress.  

“They’re going to spend the next few years restoring SH2 to what it was before Gabrielle – in other words, restoring a ‘not to acceptable standard’ road.

“Is it any wonder Wairoa people get pissed off?”

He says the region needs a new 59km route following the coast from Wairoa to Tangoio.

“We could have a 45-minute trip to Napier if they put a proper road in.

“The current route and state of the road just adds to our carbon footprint as traffic is held up. SH2 isn’t just a trip to Wairoa; it’s an eastern arterial route for the North Island.”

Newton, who doesn’t mince words, was named Federated Farmers’ 2024 Arable Advocate of the Year for the way he’s championed the causes of Wairoa and local farmers.

While Wairoa’s flooding issues have captured national headlines, Newton takes issue with suggestions in the media that the area has been abandoned.

“We haven’t been abandoned; the reality is we’ve never really been loved,” he says.

“Successive governments have just put our district’s issues in the too-hard basket.”

Newton grew up on the family sheep and beef farm on “pretty steep, hard country” out the back of Urenui, Taranaki.  

He and wife Sonya moved to Wairoa in 2013 and now have 200ha of fertile flat land where they grow maize.

For the first eight years, the weather was predictable: two or three weeks of fine weather, then two or three days of rain.

He says all of that has changed since January 2022, with regular rainfall “wetter than the wettest season that nature ever threw down on Taranaki”. 

“The East Coast is supposed to be getting drier with climate change, but we’re yet to see any of that in Wairoa. 

“We usually plant our maize in October and harvest it in April-May, but this season it was so wet we were still planting up to Christmas and only on about 120ha of our 200ha.”

Drying and freight costs also go up the wetter the harvested maize, Newton says.  

Wairoa growers are paying $100 tonne for maize freighted to the Te Puke dryer.  

“Big players in the feed market import inferior grain, then mix in locally grown feed to bring it up to a barely acceptable standard, but the price offered to us is benchmarked against that.”

The upshot is Wairoa growers’ costs are about $2700 per hectare but returns are only $2200ha, he says.

Newton understands Gisborne growers, given they’re an hour and a half closer by road than Wairoa to the dryer and, thus, should have lower transport costs, are also getting offered less than they should.

Meanwhile, demand from key customers for maize grain has dwindled.

“Poorly thought-through and ideological changes in our pork and poultry industries have been a big driver of that,” Newton says

“Rule changes undercut our pork industry. Now we’re importing pork from other countries with far lower animal welfare standards.”

All these pressures are starting to add up and could force significant change in Wairoa’s arable industry, he says. 

“Local growers were producing 20,000 tonne a decade ago, but that’s since dropped to around 5000 tonnes. 

“Some may well be forced to switch to raising lambs or cattle, or growing apples.” 

Newton says locals will need to innovate for Wairoa’s arable sector to survive. 

He’d like to see local farmers become the end users of locally grown grain, meaning grain is grown and used in Wairoa. 

“We could develop a chicken or livestock feedlot system in Wairoa to eliminate grain freight cost and keep our freezing works going year-round.

“I haven’t been able to get traction with that idea yet because the banks don’t want to look at the capital investment involved in feedlots. 

“But unless we innovate and come up with a solution like that, Wairoa’s farming – and the wider economy – will stagnate.”

One thing’s for sure: Newton will continue speaking up loudly for Wairoa’s farming community and advocating for the arable sector.  

Federated Farmers, New Zealand’s leading independent rural advocacy organisation, has established a news and insights partnership with AgriHQ, the country’s leading rural publisher, to give the farmers of New Zealand a more informed, united and stronger voice. Federated Farmers news and commentary appears each week in its own section of the Farmers Weekly print edition and online.

In Focus Podcast | Feds happy with banking inquiry terms

Federated Farmers says the terms of reference announced for the upcoming inquiry into rural banking will leave the banks nowhere to hide. 

Its banking spokesperson Richard McIntyre says there had been a concern that the terms would limit the reach of the inquiry, but those fears have been allayed.

Established with the objective of ensuring enduring viability of the Canterbury supply chain, the Fairfield Freight Hub is set to be a game-changer for intermodal transport.

Located just north of Ashburton and fully owned by Mid Canterbury-based Wareing Group, which incorporates a number of transport companies throughout the South Island, the freight hub provides a staging model aimed at smoothing volumes of both empty container supply, export cargo ready to ship and import handling.

Wareing Group director Mark Wareing said the hub would streamline freight volumes in and out of Mid Canterbury and reduce the impact of trucks on roads.

He said helping exporters and freight partners move more freight by rail makes sense both from a business and sustainability perspective and will help stabilise the supply chain issues.

Wareing worked with Talleys to secure the hub site at the existing rail siding site of the former Silver Fern Farms meat processing plant.

The hub development cost $18 million, with a $2.5m contribution from the government’s NZ Upgrade Programme and $2.3m from the Ashburton District Council.

Speaking at a New Zealand grain and seed forum, Wareing said aligning with trusted service partners outside of the local region, the services and facilities offered by the Fairfield Freight Hub will offer numerous benefits including optimising operational efficiencies, eliminating unnecessary road transport movements and improving sustainability.

“We needed to find a better way to get containers to port than battling with the 4×4 Prado drivers getting little Billy to school along Brougham Street [Christchurch] with time critical to seed stores and to us as transport operators getting to and from the Lyttleton Port. 

“With existing rail siding facilities having reached capacity it is vital to the Canterbury economy that a more structured approached to freight movements be established,” Wareing said.

The intermodal project is part of a long-term agreement with KiwiRail for the development of a rail siding, combined with container transfers services, warehouse storage and grain handling facilities.

“While reducing heavy vehicle movements throughout the Canterbury region, resulting in reduced infrastructure deterioration and carbon emissions, the hub offers improved efficiency and reliability through the ability to transport via rail.”

It will also enhance supply networks, providing greater connectivity between manufacturers, importers, exporters and ports.

Getting grain to the North Island is in the pipeline, as is future connection with the Port of Timaru.

“This takes away some of the slack in the system, a big bump out of the supply chain.

“It’s a game-changer for intermodal transport and with the projections of Lyttleton Port Company and KiwiRail, it’s built for the future,” Wareing said.

Intermodal hubs make use of both road and rail transport enabling trucks to complete the first and last mile of collection and delivery, and for rail to do the heavy longer-distance movements.

The four-hectare Ministry for Primary Industries-approved transitional Fairfield hub facility includes dry storage warehousing, general container storage, secure export scheme approval, bulk grain testing and consolidation, and container fumigation and cleaning. 

KiwiRail said the new Fairfield operation will increase the amount of local freight carried by rail from 6000 to 20,000 containers a year. That’s half a million tonnes of freight off the region’s roads, the equivalent of 40,000 truck movements.

Given rail offers 70% fewer emissions compared to heavy road freight, it’s a substantial reduction in transport emissions.

KiwiRail account executive Paul Dinnington said KiwiRail now has six South Island export container hubs operating as a buffer to ensure containers get to port on time.

A new customer booking portal showing live data has improved booking supply chain and connector efficiencies with road transport.

“We have been on the back foot with that but it’s up and running now.

“I would like to see us partner more in that space; road, rail, shipping, exporters and importers.

“Everyone is looking at the same dollars and cents, and where we can work collaboratively to take out some cost, such as the Fairfield Hub and inland port hubs, we are very much in favour of promoting that where we can,” Dinnington said.

While Colin Hannah is thrilled at news of a four-lane expressway being built to Northland, he’s wary of potential roadblocks ahead. 

The Federated Farmers Northland president says he was “ecstatic” at the Government’s recent announcement it would be accelerating work on an expressway between Auckland and Whangārei.

“This is fantastic news about Northland being connected to the rest of the country with a highway, and I’m celebrating as much as other farmers in the region. 

“Our region’s growth has for too long been strangled by poor infrastructure, most recently seen with the 190-day closure of the Brynderwyn Hills, which has cost farmers and the rest of the community hugely.”

However, Hannah says he’s been around long enough to know an exciting announcement from the Government doesn’t mean the expressway is a done deal. 

“I’ve been listening to politicians telling us we’re going to get a lifeline for the last eight or nine years. 

“Over this time, I’ve attended at least five meetings around the building of the highway, and we’ve had the opportunity to look at possible routes and design work. “But then we had a new Labour Government come in and someone coined this new road ‘the Holiday Highway’ – and plans disappeared overnight. 

“As a region we’ve paid the price of this idealism dearly.”

Hannah says that same risk of political interference exists now. 

“Because of our endless rollercoaster of election cycles, we could easily see a new Government come along and scrap the expressway, even if it’s part-way through being built. 

“If that happens, my fear is we could see Northland once again left with nothing more than a goat track for a road.”

In Transport Minister Simeon Brown’s announcement last month, he said delivering new three Roads of National Significance for Northland was a large and complex task that would require a significant shift in approach.

That approach would include a progressive public private partnership model, and the expressway would be treated as one project but in three stages: Warkworth to Te Hana; Te Hana to Port Marsden; Port Marsden to Whangārei. 

Hannah says it makes sense to split the massive project into three bite-sized sections of work, but the only stage he’s confident about is the first. 

“What we are sure of from this great announcement is the Warkworth to Te Hana section. 

“This is within the current Government’s term timeframe and, because much of this has been consented and could actually start almost immediately, we can now rest assured this section will get done.”

He says the other two remaining sections are nothing more than lines on a piece of paper. 

“There’s so much work to be done before they become a reality, including land acquisition, design work, and consents to be obtained.

“That’s where the risk is – that we never see those two sections built.”

Hannah says he’s been meeting with Northland Chamber of Commerce and other business leaders, and they’ve agreed on a way to safeguard the new expressway from political interference. 

“What we’d like to see is this critical piece of infrastructure is constructed and managed under an authority similar to the Harbour Bridge Authority back in 1950.

“The authority could be formed under an act of Parliament and funded not out of the Government’s books but through borrowed money from a reputable superannuation fund.

“This type of structure would be the only way we Northlanders could have some certainty for the future, so we don’t become political pawns like we have in the past.” 

Hannah says farmers and others in Northland are 100% on-board with the idea of the new expressway being a toll road. 

“In all my meetings and conversations, I’ve not had one ‘no’ to that idea. 

“Everybody is saying ‘bring it on’, and that’s because a proper highway to Northland would bring such huge savings and efficiencies to our people that any cost of a toll would be minimal in comparison.” 

He says he’s not out to criticise the Government but wants to find a way of working with political leaders to come up with a plan that truly works.

“We need to talk, listen to each other, and find a way to fix Northland’s roading woes once and for all.”

Federated Farmers, New Zealand’s leading independent rural advocacy organisation, has established a news and insights partnership with AgriHQ, the country’s leading rural publisher, to give the farmers of New Zealand a more informed, united and stronger voice. Federated Farmers news and commentary appears each week in its own section of the Farmers Weekly print edition and online.

A programme aimed at encouraging farmers to install crush protection devices on their quad bikes has been over-subscribed, hitting its initial target within 38 hours of the offer being launched.

The Safer Rides programme has had 110 farm businesses from across the country sign up to the pilot scheme, which offered a discount of up to 75% on crush protection devices (CPDs) from retailers Trax Equipment and Quadbar.

 The initiative is being driven by Safer Farms in conjunction with partners Rabobank, ANZCO Foods, LIC, Craigmore Sustainables and PGG Wrightson as part of the Farm Without Harm strategy.

The pilot programme enabled farmers to apply for a heavily discounted CPD via a redeemable voucher to the value of $400. That meant more than half of the retail price was covered by Safer Rides. Participating retailers provided a further 15% discount. 

 Farmers from every region of New Zealand applied for the discount vouchers, with the largest uptake in Canterbury, followed by Manawatū-Whanganui.

The highest number of applications came from sheep and beef farmers but there was  significant interest from dairy farmers too. Most applicants said this would be their first CPD purchase.

One hundred more are on a waitlist after applying. Safer Farms is exploring options to fund CPDs for these farmers too.

The response showed how much farmers value safety and want to make use of fail-safe solutions, Wairarapa Farmer and Farm Without Harm ambassador Lindy Nelson said.

 “This is about being responsive to the practical needs of our farmers. Our members and retailers invested in this incentive programme to remove the cost barrier and this pilot has clearly struck a chord with farmers. Farmers clearly want to make their quad bikes safer.”

Farmers applying for the discount were invited to provide their reasons and Nelson said the responses highlighted how important it is to make CPDs accessible to farm businesses.

These include heartbreaking personal accounts of losing loved ones and neighbours through quad bike accidents, Nelson said.

“Many also cited the hilly nature of their farms and their desire to keep their people safe, and commented that they had been thinking about fitting CPDs on their quads for a long time but cost had been a barrier and this was the nudge they needed.

 “Others talked about how it would provide them with peace of mind when their partner or colleagues were working out on farm alone.”

From 2019 to 2023 there were 22 quad bike-related fatalities in New Zealand, most involving rollovers and steep grades. The past year has been the deadliest yet for ATV-related fatalities, with the majority involving rollovers.

CPDs provide space underneath an upturned quad bike by spreading the weight of the bike and either creating space for survival or allowing the bike to roll off the occupant.

Four CPD products were available under the pilot programme. These are the QuadBar Original ($635) and Quadbar flexibar ($780) from Quadbar, and the QuadGuard ($838) and Lifeguard ($1724) from Trax Equipment.

The government has confirmed the regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event funding for state highway recovery projects.

Transport Minister Simeon Brown said regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods.

“In Budget 2024 our government committed $609.25 million in capital funding for state highway recovery to restore roads back to their previous condition. 

“This breakdown of funding gives affected communities certainty that the government will deliver on its promise to fund state highway recovery projects. 

The indicative regional breakdown includes approximately $131.3m for Northland state highway recovery projects, $21m for the Coromandel, and $250m for the east coast. 

“Investing in the recovery of our road networks is critical to restoring vital access to goods, services, and employment opportunities for affected communities across the North Island. 

“We’re committed to the recovery effort, and a key part of this will be restoring vital state highways across the region as part of our plan to get people and freight to where they want to go, quickly and safely.” 

The recovery works include permanent structural or pavement repairs, drop out repairs, bridge re-establishment works, benching and shaping of slip sites, rockfall protection systems, and river training and scour protection. 

Work across projects in Northland is expected to be completed by the end of 2024, Coromandel by mid-2025, Hawke’s Bay by late 2025, and in Tairāwhiti by mid-2026.

Budget 2024 also invests an additional $330m over two years to continue the response and recovery work on local roads that were affected by the North Island Weather Event (NIWE) . 

“In addition to the state highway recovery funding, the coalition government is investing $50m in local road response to enable Gisborne District Council and Hastings District Council to continue critical response work across their districts. 

“Recovery funding of $280m will support 13 councils affected by NIWE, and NZTA is working with councils to prioritise and accelerate delivery of this funding to local road recovery projects.”

Rural Women New Zealand has urged the government to factor in the quality of country roads before making any decisions on amending speed limits for vehicles.

In its submission to Te Manatū Waka Ministry of Transport (MOT) on the Setting of Speed Limits 2024, RWNZ said any cost benefit analysis must determine if roads have been maintained to a standard that will accommodate changes to speeds safely.

“Alongside the quality of rural roads, gradients, road widths and curves also need to be considered when setting appropriate speed limits,” the submission says.

“Logically it would follow that the roading network needs to be repaired significantly before increasing speed limits safely. We would advocate that speeds should be reduced for roads in poor condition.” 

The analysis “should also factor in robust ongoing maintenance to support any additional anticipated maintenance as a result of increased speed”.

In December, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced that speed limit rules will be amended and the Minister of Transport released the draft Land Transport Rule: Setting of Speed Limits Rule 2024 (the draft Speed Rule) for public consultation with submissions closed on July 11.

RWNZ said it is important to keep in mind many rural roads do not have footpaths, berms or verges and often lack cycleways, lighting or signage.

It also questioned the irregular maintenance of rural roads in addition to their inconsistent quality.

“When combined with inappropriate speeds, unsafe driving behaviours, poor signage and a diverse range of road users, these issues can lead to serious injuries and fatalities in rural regions.”

RWNZ said it would also like to see the government run a campaign to ensure New Zealanders are aware of the speed limits in rural school areas and when passing buses, due to concern that many people do not know the speed limit is 20km/h.

“RWNZ has been requesting signs on school buses warning passing drivers to travel at 20km/h if the bus is stationary. We have also been asking for all school buses in rural areas to have flashing lights activated by the driver when the bus is slowing to drop off or pick up children.”

This has been trialled, yet national usage has not been made mandatory, it said.

Federated Farmers highlighted speed limits in its submission to the Ministry of Transport   in September last year.

 While it acknowledged the challenge to bring down the road toll and did not disagree with the objective of attempting to ensure safer use of the roading network, it disagreed with moves by Waka Kotahi and local authorities to both reduce speed limits and install “impractical” safety measures that reduce the functionality of parts of the roading network.

“We are aware of instances where median barriers are proposed along stretches of state highway that significantly extend travel times and make it near impossible for necessary farm vehicles to travel along them safely. 

“This demonstrates an implied preference by road controlling authorities to take the easy or cheaper route of affecting how road users use the roading network, rather than instead ensuring the roading network is fit for purpose for road users,” the submission said.

“It remains our preference that roading infrastructure be improved before considering further road safety measures that reduce the functionality of rural roads and bridges.”

The news that the government didn’t warn the South Koreans that we were about to cancel the Cook Strait Ferry contract didn’t surprise me as I’d already given Nicola Willis an A for arrogance over the deal. 

The finance minister’s statement that she was cancelling the contract because of a cost over-run of $1.47 billion came out of the blue. What destroyed the credibility of the announcement was that it was made at a similar time to her giving tax breaks to landlords of $3bn.

The Cook Strait ferries carry livestock and produce vital for rural NZ. They also carry supplies, people and vehicles between the North and South Island. They are, in my view, a vital part of New Zealand’s infrastructure.

We now have a “Ministerial Advisory Group” created by Minister Willis to advise of future options. Other than the more hui than do-ey that National accused the previous government of, I’ve found that ministers create such groups to give them the answers they want.

At this point those answers appear to be privatising the ferries and not having a rail capability, which in my view is crazy.

While I admit that KiwiRail is a disaster, I don’t want it privatised yet again. What I do want is an efficient and focused organisation, which doesn’t currently exist.

Considerable cost had already been committed, $424 million with the ferry orders’ cancellation estimated to cost at least another $300m. That’s $724m of taxpayer dollars wasted. 

The issue wasn’t just the ships but the onshore infrastructure, including $250m for “seismic costs”, which was a government requirement for a one-in-500-year event. 

The Picton wharf has a maximum life of three years with the Wellington facility in a similar state. They’re still going to have to be upgraded, new ferries or not.

Rail was a large factor with the cost increase and I support the Cook Strait ferries being rail capable. Internationally there has been a “renaissance with rail”.

Considering the original contract, we had two ferries purpose-built for Cook Strait. They had powerful electric motors, which has become the industry standard for new ships. Hyundai was contracted to build them. It has been described as “the best ship builder in the world”. The ferries had a reduced wash, which was important to those living in the Sounds.

I would have described the original ferry proposal as an investment in long-term infrastructure,  vital for New Zealand. They transport $14bn in freight and carry 850,000 passengers annually. KiwiRail was awarded a $350m green loan that has since been revoked because of the cancellation.

Where has that left us? Our old ferries are a shower and subject to breakdown. The Kaitaki lost power in Cook Strait in January 2023 with 800 people on board. It was fortunate no one was killed. More recently Aratere ran aground in Picton as a result of steering failure.

The government is suggesting smaller ferries as a replacement. There are just 22 such boats in the world today, with none for sale. Getting a boat will take at least four years, The new ferries could have been here by the end of 2026. 

There is considerable discussion that the cost will be little different from the purpose-designed ferries, which becomes farcical.  The Ministry of Transport warned the government that the current ferries had a two-year life. The problem is we are now at the back of the queue for new boats.

We read that supply chains need “a reliable, safe, efficient, cost-effective transport system”. We don’t have that with the old ferries.

Ian Braid, the managing director of Mainfreight, told NBR that “Cook Strait was not just a piece of water but an extension of State Highway 1 connecting both islands”. He added that  he was “worried about the government’s naivety in making decisions about the route without consultation with key customers of that supply chain”. 

His points are valid.

My frustration is with one government committing to a commercial deal, with a new government cancelling the deal for what in my view were spurious reasons.

The reality is that the new ferries would have cost as much as the four new surveillance planes for the NZ Defence Force. If the prime minister wants a new 757 plane, they will cost over  US$100m each with annual running costs estimated at US$7m. Replacements for the ferries could cost as much as the disbanded project.

As for cost increases, Transmission Gully was a National Government initiative that went on forever and came in at 40% over budget.

The loser in the current shambles is the taxpayer and the farmer. Korea is our sixth largest trading partner, valued at $8.92bn. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade did advise the government that cavalier cancellation of the ferries involved “a risk to NZ’s reputation in Korea”. 

We don’t need that.