The Interislander ferry keeps running out of power mid-journey and the passengers watch, horrified, as it drifts towards rocks while the crew works to restart the vessel. Their competitor, Bluebridge, keeps cancelling trips because of mechanical failure. There’s been some sort of roll-on roll-off ferry operating across the Cook Strait since 1962, and it has run into trouble before – strikes in the 70s and 80s, a malfunctioning navigational system on a new ship in the early 2000s (not to mention the 1968 Wahine disaster). But this is the first time in 60 years that the service has just stopped working.
There’s a famous exchange in Ernest Hemingway’s novel The Sun Also Rises: “How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked. “Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually and then suddenly.”
New Zealand isn’t bankrupt. The economy has flirted with recession, the current account deficit is terrible and the damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods will cost billions of dollars to repair – but GDP is just under $400 billion a year, government debt is low, and our currency is relatively stable.
Things don’t seem to work very well, though. The ferries are running again – for now. But important components of the state are visibly deteriorating: the health system, education, the water infrastructure, metropolitan public transport, civil defence. It feels like we’re in the gradual phase of state failure – a point we’re still decades away from, probably, hopefully, but blithely drifting towards.
Denne historien er fra June 3-9 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
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Denne historien er fra June 3-9 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.