At Stuff I blog on the train blame game.

Tags: Auckland Council, By the numbers, Len Brown, Steven Joyce, Stuff, trains

Hidden in the depths of detail in the budget documents are the true costs of the train set Dr Cullen purchased. It is projected to be $1.47 billion by 2012.

So how did Toll get the deal of a lifetime?

Simple. Dr Cullen got Mike Williams to buy it, rather than the Treasury!

Treasury you see were too tough in negotiating rail access prices with Toll, so OnTrack were given the job to negotiate the purchase of the trains. Yes, he deliberately sent in the “weaker” team. Toll must regard their $25,000 donation to Labour last year as their best ever investment.

Now who is a Director of On Track? Labour Party President Mike Williams. So what role did Mike “confused” Williams have in buying the trains? Is there not a conflict of interest in being Labour’s chief fundraiser who accepted a donation from Toll and also being on the board buying the trains off Toll?

Tags: Michael Cullen, Mike Williams, Toll, trains, Treasury

Secret aspects to the deal with Toll are starting to come to light, and the price tag for taxpayers just keeps rising. The Herald reports on how the taxpayer has also taken on responsibility for a $200 million loan to the parent company of Toll NZ. So what are the details we know of, to date:

1. Taxpayers pay $665 for just trains and ferries – around double what the trains, ferries and freight business cost a few years ago
2. Taxpayers pay $200 million loan to Toll Australia
3. Toll NZ keeps profitable freight business
4. Toll NZ gets rent free office for six years
5. Taxpayer responsible for several hundred million of stock upgrades
6. Rumours of a price discount for Toll’s freight business

From Toll’s point of view, this really has been the sale of the century. They’ll never ever find another history lecturer with so much money to give away.

Tags: Michael Cullen, Toll, trains

We’re back to the future with the Government giving Toll a huge wallop of cash for their trains and ferries. Toll will be laughing all the way to the bank with their $665 million.

There is a case for the Government to own core infrastructure assets, but I am far from convinced it needs to own the companes that operate on them.

$665 million would do far more for NZ investing in future infrastructure such as fibre-optic cables, than some second hand ferries and trains.

John Key has already said that they won’t be selling any assets in their first term, so I guess we are stuck with them for the foreseeable future. I just hope someone keeps track of how much money we throw into keeping them viable, and what the opportunity cost of investing that money elsewhere is.

Tags: Asset Sales, ferries, Toll, trains