8. Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour—Hutt South) Link to this
to the Minister of Finance
Is he satisfied that all necessary due diligence was undertaken before the Government approved the purchase of locomotives from China?
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance) Link to this
Yes. I am advised by the board that it did take all necessary due diligence.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
Was he briefed on the fact that only five of the 20 locomotives supplied by the same Chinese company to Malaysia have lasted more than 3 years, before he approved the package, including those locomotives?
We relied on a board appointed by that member’s Government just a few months ago to make the decisions about the investment, and, yes, I have been briefed on those matters.
Hon Steven JoyceHow does the level of due diligence conducted on this particular investment compare with the level of due diligence the previous Government did on the whole KiwiRail investment?
I am hoping that the due diligence done on this project is markedly better than that done by the previous Government on the whole of KiwiRail, where it spent something like $1 billion purchasing a business that has negligible commercial value now.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
Can the Minister of Finance tell us how it was consistent with the outcomes of the Job Summit to purchase these locomotives from a failing Chinese company rather than build them in the Hutt workshops in New Zealand, given that the engines all come from Germany anyway?
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I think you made a ruling earlier as to descriptions of people outside the House. Describing the Rt Hon Jim Bolger as a crony is not something that is appropriate, and that is what the Leader of the House just did.
Mr SPEAKERThe member will resume his seat. I do not think that helps the good order of the House or the progress of question time.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
I raise a point or order, Mr Speaker. I know you said it is not helpful, but are you now ruling that it is acceptable for the Leader of the House to describe the former Prime Minister as a crony, when earlier you said that people involved with the Labour Party are not allowed to be called hypocrites?
Hon Gerry Brownlee Link to this
I am sure it will help if I withdraw and apologise. I make the point that any comment I might have made about some of Mr Mallard’s friends pales in significance in relation to what Mr Mallard has said in this House about the Rt Hon Jim Bolger, a man I greatly respect.
I think members will accept that we have had tit for tat here. Let us now hear the reply of the Hon Bill English.
At the Job Summit I spoke to one of Mr Mallard’s cronies, Rail and Maritime Transport Union general secretary Wayne Butson, and he said following last week’s announcement that the funding of new locomotives and passenger carriages was “a major boost for the rail system”, and that the new locomotives would “lift the productivity of freight services.” I agree with Mr Butson.
John BoscawenI do not imagine that the return on that investment will be significant, but I hope that the investment in these locomotives will help KiwiRail to lift the productivity of its freight services. I am advised that the same Chinese manufacturer delivered 20 locomotives in Malaysia. At the request of Malaysia, the locomotives were fitted with a different and outdated braking system, which has been the cause of the problems with those locomotives.
Jeanette Fitzsimons Link to this
I seek leave to table a document that facilitates the outsourcing of New Zealand jobs to China. It is called the free-trade agreement, and one of the authors was the previous Government.