NZ opposition presses for new Tokelau ferry
Updated
New Zealand's opposition Labour Party is calling on the government to honour a promise to help Tokelau buy a new ferry. The MV Tokelau is used on the 26 hour sea journey from Samoa's capital, Apia, to the three remote atolls which comprise Tokelau, and i's age and seaworthiness have been questioned by the territory's leadership. New Zealand Labour MP Carnel Sepuloni, who is part-Tongan, says the previous Labour government promised to help Tokelau find a new vessel, and the new National Party administration should confirm whether it intends to honour that undertaking. She says the need for a new ferry for Tokelau has been dramatically underlined by the recent sinking of the Tongan inter-island ferry, the Princess Ashika, with heavy loss of lives.
Presenter: Bruce Hill
Speaker: New Zealand opposition Labour Party MP, Carnel Sepuloni
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SEPULONI: It definitely makes it a little bit more urgent. Our government over here has been talking about the need to look into the safety of our transport in the Pacific, and the immediate thing that comes to mind is the MV Tokelau.
HILL: What's the problem with the MV Tokelau?
SEPULONI: The MV Tokelau is in need of replacement. We were just go to there recently for a foreign affairs, defence and trade, we're doing an inquiry into our relationship with the Pacific, and we were in Samoa and met with the Tokelauans there and the presentation that they made to us was largely based around the need for the new boat, and the dangerous state that their current one is in. So there is a real sense of urgency there.
HILL: And do you think the same thing that happened with the Princess Ashika might conceivably happen to the MV Tokelau?
SEPULONI: It's conceivable and so rather than attempt to do something once it's too late, it's very important that we get on to this quickly.
HILL: You've actually travelled on this ferry, what's the experience like? What did you notice about it safety-wise?
SEPULONI: Well my experience on it was short because it was part of the presentation that the Tokelauans did for us when we were over there; it was part of the civic committee. So they basically just took us out on the Samoan harbour, the Apia harbour there and that water was calm, but the boat was incredibly unsturdy. And I just could not even image what it would be like out in open waters, and that's basically what the Tokelauans were telling us, that if we thought that was unsteady in terms of what we were experiencing, then surely we must be able to comprehend what they were telling us that it's incredibly unsafe when they're out there on the open waters.
HILL: That wouldn't be an experience you'd care to repeat if it was a bit rough and the middle of the night?
SEPULONI: Tell you what doing it in the Apia harbour's one thing, but yeah travelling for 26 hours out in the open seas I don't think that's something that I'd be willing to do in a great hurry.
HILL: How much does it cost to buy a new ferry?
SEPULONI: It's a lot of money and it's an investment over 25 years. So the exact cost at this stage I'm not sure, that's something that the government's going to have to look into, but it's not just the cost of the boat obviously, it's looking after that boat for the next 25 years. So it is a lot of money.
HILL: Now I understand the previous Labour government actually made a promise to the Tokelauan people that they would look at this and I believe that the new Prime Minister John Key has also said after the sinking of the Princess Ashika that this is a matter they'll look at with urgency. Is this an issue that crosses partisan party lines in New Zealand, is this something that National and Labour both have the same view on, getting a new ferry for Tokelau?
SEPULONI: Yeah well I'd hope that the safety of the Tokelauans and New Zealand citizens in general is something that we're bipartisan on. Obviously myself and our spokesperson for foreign affairs feel like we need to be putting something out there to ensure that this is happening in a hurry rather than being delayed unnecessarily. So I would hope that it is something that we have a bipartisan view on.
HILL: Is there any way you can bring pressure to bear on the government to speed it up a bit?
SEPULONI: Media attention's always good, so that's one of things that we're doing, and I'm sure there'll be a lot of conversations behind the scenes about this too.
HILL: What's New Zealand's responsibility to Tokelau as far as transport goes? I mean they are by virtue of being Tokelauans they are automatically New Zealand citizens at the same time aren't they?
SEPULONI: Yes so we would hope that our responsibility as New Zealanders would be to ensure that they are as safe as any New Zealanders living in New Zealand with regards to transport.
HILL: If the MV Tokelau was crossing Cook Strait would it be allowed to sail?
SEPULONI: It would be a very real issue, that's for sure, and I can't imagine that it would be sailing across our Cook Strait. That's where as New Zealanders we really need to take a look at what's happening over there and make the decision to actually invest the money that's required.
