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Speaker 1: So a couple of weeks ago, I went out to

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Speaker 1: Devenport for a little picnic evening with some friends. When

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Speaker 1: we went over on the ferry, as you do with

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Speaker 1: the kids, and you know how, you try and turn

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Speaker 1: the whole fairy trip into a bit of an adventure.

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Speaker 1: I pointed out to the kids as we sailed across

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Speaker 1: to Devonport from Walkland, CBD, the naval ships that were

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Speaker 1: waiting there at base. Look, I said, pointing at the Manawanui. Look,

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Speaker 1: that's our navy. Look. Obviously, it's a great relief that

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Speaker 1: everyone's okay and was able to disembark in time. And

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Speaker 1: I accept it's going to be a bit of time

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Speaker 1: before we learn everything about what went wrong. But it

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Speaker 1: is hard to look past what is, at least from

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Speaker 1: the outside, a profoundly embarrassing accident for New Zealand's defense

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Speaker 1: force and for New Zealand at large. I get it.

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Speaker 1: Shit happens, but the time and place really could not

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Speaker 1: be much worse. Just twenty four hours before the ship

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Speaker 1: hit the reef, defense ministers from across the Pacific were

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Speaker 1: meeting in Auckland to establish a new Pacific Response Group,

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Speaker 1: a multilateral force that will respond to future disasters. This

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Speaker 1: is supposed to be the height of competence in the Pacific,

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Speaker 1: with orcus and tensions over China's ambitions in the region.

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Speaker 1: The Australian Defense Minister was plain when I asked him

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Speaker 1: last week about New Zealand's military assets. Quote, A more

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Speaker 1: capable New Zealand is very much in Australia's interests, he

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Speaker 1: told me. It's probably in Sarmoura's interests now as well.

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Speaker 1: What's more, in just two weeks, leaders from across the

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Speaker 1: Commonwealth's fifty six member nations and yeah, King Charles are

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Speaker 1: going to be meeting for the biennial Choggham meeting in

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Speaker 1: you guessed it some more. You hate to think what

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Speaker 1: sight seeing those leaders might do if they have a

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Speaker 1: couple of hours spare time. So what now? I just

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Speaker 1: think it's absolutely critical, like vitally important important that we

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Speaker 1: do everything humanly possible to reduce the environmental impact of

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Speaker 1: this accident. Everything, every bit of kit we have available

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Speaker 1: needs to be used, every resource needs to be thrown

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Speaker 1: at this and most importantly, there cannot be any quibbling

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Speaker 1: over the cost of the response and recovery. And recovery

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Speaker 1: we have to sincerely do the right thing by some more,

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Speaker 1: and obviously that is not going to come cheap. As

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Speaker 1: much of the world pause resources into defense assets time

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Speaker 1: and again, New Zealand's are proving unfit for purpose, whether

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Speaker 1: it is the woeful state of defense force housing, the

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Speaker 1: perennially stranded seven to five sevens, or now the Manuanui.

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Speaker 1: The credibility of our defense force has taken an almighty

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Speaker 1: battering in the last few years, but as we respond

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Speaker 1: to this crisis, the credibility of our nation is on

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Speaker 1: the line too, and we had better step up. For

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Speaker 1: more from Heather Duplessy, Allen Drive listen live to News Talks.

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Speaker 1: It'd be from four pm weekdays, one of the podcast

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Speaker 1: on iHeartRadio