1 00:00:01,240 --> 00:00:04,880 Speaker 1: Ever do for see Ellen be under no illusion about today. 2 00:00:04,880 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: When that ferry ran onto that sand on Friday night, 3 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:10,400 Speaker 1: that became a massive problem for the person who I 4 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:12,680 Speaker 1: reckon is probably National's biggest asset at the moment, and 5 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:16,040 Speaker 1: that's Nichola Willis. Because Nichola canceled the Fairies, didn't she, 6 00:00:16,640 --> 00:00:18,960 Speaker 1: So this is going to be on her. Now. I'm 7 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:21,400 Speaker 1: not arguing about Nichola's decision to cancel the Fairies. I 8 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:23,280 Speaker 1: actually think she made the right call because those things 9 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:24,680 Speaker 1: were silly. I mean, it seemed to me that the 10 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:27,800 Speaker 1: thinking behind buying them came out of a stupid idea, 11 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:30,720 Speaker 1: which was, you need these big fairies so that you 12 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:33,400 Speaker 1: can drive a train onto them and then ship the 13 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 1: entire thing to another island and then drive it off 14 00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:39,240 Speaker 1: again at the other side. Now, think about how much 15 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:42,280 Speaker 1: redundant metal there is in a train, Just how heavy 16 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:44,519 Speaker 1: a train is before you even start loading it up. 17 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:47,120 Speaker 1: Now you're putting that on a boat, and then you're 18 00:00:47,159 --> 00:00:49,160 Speaker 1: paying the fuel bill to get it across the cook straight. 19 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:51,720 Speaker 1: That stupid I mean, surely, yeah, it's gonna take a 20 00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:53,840 Speaker 1: bit more mantower, but you're better off unloading the thing 21 00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:55,720 Speaker 1: on one side and then reloading another one on the 22 00:00:55,720 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 1: other end. But regardless and regardless of whether the right 23 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:03,959 Speaker 1: call was made, Nikola Willis made the call, and then 24 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:06,640 Speaker 1: she made the mistake. And the mistake was that when 25 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:09,240 Speaker 1: she canceled the fairies, she didn't provide an alternative. You 26 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:13,440 Speaker 1: cannot cancel fairies that we desperately need without replacing them 27 00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:16,360 Speaker 1: with other fairies, because we still desperately need them, right 28 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:18,160 Speaker 1: And how long have we lost here, like six months 29 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:20,360 Speaker 1: or something like that. It seems to me that she's 30 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:22,720 Speaker 1: only got one option really here to fix it. She 31 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:24,880 Speaker 1: can't go back to buying the old fairies, like, she 32 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:27,680 Speaker 1: can't reinstate that contract because that would be that would 33 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:29,400 Speaker 1: be basically admitting that she made a mistake in the 34 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:33,400 Speaker 1: first place. She can't buy replacement fairies on the second 35 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:36,959 Speaker 1: hand market because apparently they don't exist at the moment. 36 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:41,360 Speaker 1: She cannot leave us waiting and without a replacement fairy 37 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:43,240 Speaker 1: because the ones that we've already got are already in 38 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:45,480 Speaker 1: trouble on the water. I mean, every single one of 39 00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:47,760 Speaker 1: them now has had a problem in the last eighteen months. 40 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:50,360 Speaker 1: They will all be past their use by dates by 41 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:53,160 Speaker 1: next year. So seems to me the last option left. 42 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:55,919 Speaker 1: Nikola is going to have to buy us new fairies. Now. 43 00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:58,640 Speaker 1: I don't know whether that's going to be cheaper than 44 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:00,760 Speaker 1: what she just canceled. I know how she's going to 45 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 1: do this, right, I mean, maybe she can renegotiate the 46 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:05,440 Speaker 1: contract with the Koreans for the smaller ones to replace 47 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:06,880 Speaker 1: the big ones with the smaller ones, if it's not 48 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:10,160 Speaker 1: too late, or maybe she just has to start from 49 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:12,240 Speaker 1: scratch and order us new ones and get new ones. 50 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:14,440 Speaker 1: But they better be here quick, because those big fairies 51 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:16,839 Speaker 1: were due to arrive in two years time, twenty twenty six. 52 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:19,919 Speaker 1: They were going to be here. Every single day after 53 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:22,960 Speaker 1: that that we are without new fairies is a day 54 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:26,160 Speaker 1: that we can legitimately blame every single fairy problem on 55 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 1: Nikola Willis, and she's smart enough and National is smart 56 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:31,760 Speaker 1: enough to both know that. So I reckon watch them 57 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:34,320 Speaker 1: come up with a solution real quick, and frankly, it's 58 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:35,720 Speaker 1: one that they should have come up with on the 59 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:39,040 Speaker 1: day that they canceled those big fairies. For more from 60 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:42,399 Speaker 1: Heather Duplicy Allen Drive, listen live to news talks. It'd 61 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:46,480 Speaker 1: be from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.