Will burst pipeline leak votes for National?
This week’s jet fuel crisis in Auckland is the last thing the National Party needed in election week. The criticism that National got its infrastructure priorities wrong throughout its nine years in government hit home hard with this scandalous development that made New Zealand look so very mickey mouse.
The crisis not only resulted in hundreds of domestic and international flights being cancelled, rescheduled and rerouted but also ran city petrol stations dry. Wartime-like rationing has had to be introduced, roads and bus lanes have been cleared for tanker convoys to reach the airport, government officials were asked to curtail travel plans and the national flag carrier is putting controls on ticket sales.
This is a huge blow to New Zealand’s reputation as a first world country and a top international destination for tourism. The government of the day, especially since it has been in power for nine years must take the blame and must shoulder the embarrassment the crisis has caused it. The Prime Minister’s tame and tepid response to the crisis in the media is proof his government has no answers and has run out of excuses.
It is inconceivable that there was no contingency plan in place for an arrangement as fraught as bringing a vital resource like jet fuel to the airport through a pipeline from as far as 168 kilometres. This was despite multiple agencies and multiple reports that warned the government across several years of the weak link and the consequences of what might happen when that link is broken.
The National government did not even have the much-needed contingency plan put up or have in place an alternative arrangement to transport fuel across such a great distance in any of its infrastructure projects of significance. It is quite in line with National’s record on not prioritising infrastructure projects. Just as how it has continually neglected housing and public transport, concentrating instead on roads and still more roads.
And to think that it needed a single stray swamp kauri hunter on a digger to breach the pipeline and upset the whole system is indeed pathetic. Oblique mentions in the media and social media that Chinese-Kiwi firm Oravida was an exporter of swamp kauri were not helpful to National either. An Oravida director is the husband of Petroleum Minister Judith Collins. The repercussions of this development on Ms Collins’ future plans for a tilt at National’s leadership are bound to surface in time.
The extreme embarrassment over the jet fuel crisis has undoubtedly queered National’s pitch at such a vital juncture. The only saving grace might well be that almost half a million voters would have cast their ballots as the crisis was unfolding and it might have had little or no effect on the way they voted. Campaign fatigue as it all comes to a head might have also been the reason for an attenuated attack on National from rival parties.
The Labour ship, on the other hand, seems to have weathered the tax storm by frantically adjusting its sails no matter how clumsily by belatedly clarifying its position and all but assuring voters that no major change would come into play until at least the next election in 2020.
Tellingly, its criticism of National on the jet fuel crisis has also been uncharacteristically muted. That might have to do with sheer campaign ennui and also the fact that the criticality of the single pipeline situation was also pointed out to it when it was in power before 2008 – something that it completely neglected just as National did in the three terms following.
Labour is also perhaps counting on the early voters, apparently a bulk of them being young voters who have been galvanised by Jacinda Ardern’s youth and alluring promises such as free tertiary education and higher allowances. There is also an expectation that Pacific Island communities are likely to exercise their voting rights this time around in greater numbers than they did the last several times. These communities have traditionally voted Labour.
While Labour’s rise and rise, as also other events like the stepping down of party leaders have thrown the smaller parties’ equation into a tizzy, predicting post-poll alignments has become fraught for pundits. Most predictors have been content presenting multiple scenarios based on electoral math. No one has as yet picked a clear winner.
In that sense, this election looks set to go down to the wire. As it should, like a keenly contested All Black test or a Team India Twenty20 cricket fixture.
This week’s jet fuel crisis in Auckland is the last thing the National Party needed in election week. The criticism that National got its infrastructure priorities wrong throughout its nine years in government hit home hard with this scandalous development that made New Zealand look so very mickey...
This week’s jet fuel crisis in Auckland is the last thing the National Party needed in election week. The criticism that National got its infrastructure priorities wrong throughout its nine years in government hit home hard with this scandalous development that made New Zealand look so very mickey mouse.
The crisis not only resulted in hundreds of domestic and international flights being cancelled, rescheduled and rerouted but also ran city petrol stations dry. Wartime-like rationing has had to be introduced, roads and bus lanes have been cleared for tanker convoys to reach the airport, government officials were asked to curtail travel plans and the national flag carrier is putting controls on ticket sales.
This is a huge blow to New Zealand’s reputation as a first world country and a top international destination for tourism. The government of the day, especially since it has been in power for nine years must take the blame and must shoulder the embarrassment the crisis has caused it. The Prime Minister’s tame and tepid response to the crisis in the media is proof his government has no answers and has run out of excuses.
It is inconceivable that there was no contingency plan in place for an arrangement as fraught as bringing a vital resource like jet fuel to the airport through a pipeline from as far as 168 kilometres. This was despite multiple agencies and multiple reports that warned the government across several years of the weak link and the consequences of what might happen when that link is broken.
The National government did not even have the much-needed contingency plan put up or have in place an alternative arrangement to transport fuel across such a great distance in any of its infrastructure projects of significance. It is quite in line with National’s record on not prioritising infrastructure projects. Just as how it has continually neglected housing and public transport, concentrating instead on roads and still more roads.
And to think that it needed a single stray swamp kauri hunter on a digger to breach the pipeline and upset the whole system is indeed pathetic. Oblique mentions in the media and social media that Chinese-Kiwi firm Oravida was an exporter of swamp kauri were not helpful to National either. An Oravida director is the husband of Petroleum Minister Judith Collins. The repercussions of this development on Ms Collins’ future plans for a tilt at National’s leadership are bound to surface in time.
The extreme embarrassment over the jet fuel crisis has undoubtedly queered National’s pitch at such a vital juncture. The only saving grace might well be that almost half a million voters would have cast their ballots as the crisis was unfolding and it might have had little or no effect on the way they voted. Campaign fatigue as it all comes to a head might have also been the reason for an attenuated attack on National from rival parties.
The Labour ship, on the other hand, seems to have weathered the tax storm by frantically adjusting its sails no matter how clumsily by belatedly clarifying its position and all but assuring voters that no major change would come into play until at least the next election in 2020.
Tellingly, its criticism of National on the jet fuel crisis has also been uncharacteristically muted. That might have to do with sheer campaign ennui and also the fact that the criticality of the single pipeline situation was also pointed out to it when it was in power before 2008 – something that it completely neglected just as National did in the three terms following.
Labour is also perhaps counting on the early voters, apparently a bulk of them being young voters who have been galvanised by Jacinda Ardern’s youth and alluring promises such as free tertiary education and higher allowances. There is also an expectation that Pacific Island communities are likely to exercise their voting rights this time around in greater numbers than they did the last several times. These communities have traditionally voted Labour.
While Labour’s rise and rise, as also other events like the stepping down of party leaders have thrown the smaller parties’ equation into a tizzy, predicting post-poll alignments has become fraught for pundits. Most predictors have been content presenting multiple scenarios based on electoral math. No one has as yet picked a clear winner.
In that sense, this election looks set to go down to the wire. As it should, like a keenly contested All Black test or a Team India Twenty20 cricket fixture.
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