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Kiwirail Review Waste of Time And Money

Kiwirail Review Waste of Time And Money

Predictably the 2014 KiwiRail review released today is a total waste of time and money, says New Zealand First Leader and MP for Northland Rt Hon Winston Peters.

“That probably explains the delay in the release and that most recommendations have been ruled out.

“Any review that omits mention of the fateful damage to rail of National’s disastrous privatisation experiment isn’t worth the paper it is written on.

“National privatised railways - a decision from which rail has never recovered.

“Not mentioned in the review is:

“That rail went from $100 million and growing profits in 1993 to a cot case, having been made the piggy bank for private interests.

“Privatised, NZ Rail’s shares soared above $9 and then collapsed to 28c per share.

“KiwiRail has made disastrous management decisions like,

a. Buying 70,000 defective sleepers

b. Buying defective and junk replacement assets

c. Making scandalous decisions on the Cook Strait ferry Aratere extensions

d. Buying a replacement lemon ferry in Stena Alegra

e. The distortionary benefits of tax to roading over rail funding

“This government has no national transport strategy, as a result rail has been deliberately run down in contrast to other First World countries.

“This visionless, sterile government and management is acting like undertakers of a once great transport vision.

“Despite New Zealand’s topography the government is loading up our road’s with heavy trucks doing enormous damage yet so much of the freight, had they maintained railways structures properly, would be on rail.

“Even trucking companies like Mainfreight say that such policies are a no brainer.

“The release today is typically timed around KiwiRail’s mediation with railway staff.”

ENDS


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