Heather du Plessis-Allan: Just buy two new planes

Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Well, we're just gonna have to pony up and buy a couple of new planes, aren't we?

Come on, this is the second time this year that this plane has broken down on Chris Luxon, and if he keeps on insisting on using these old girls, it's definitely not going to be the last time.

I reckon Al Gillespie made the best argument today for why we should have a plane that works - rather than flying the Prime Minister around the place commercially.

His argument is: When our Prime Minister turns up in another country, it's generally because we want something from that country, right? Either we want to trade with them, increase trade or we want them to do what we want them to do politically. So, we're there to impress them and we have to impress them, which is the whole point of a trip like this, right? You go on a trip like this: everybody has to dress up in their best suits, look like they mean business. The Prime Minister collects a group of smart and powerful people to impress the hosts. Bring the media along to look like he's popular and a big deal. And, you arrive on your own plane. That's part of the thing, right? It's part of the whole charade.

Because what you want is countries like Japan to look at us arrive and go: “Ballers.” Ballers with influence in the South Pacific. You don't want them to look at us and go. “Oh, it's that povo country next to Australia, again.” No one wants to listen to that country, but you look like a baller in the South Pacific. Suddenly people want to spend time with you.

You gotta look like you’re meaning business. In which case you turn up in your limo, you don't turn up in your taxi. Particularly, at a time when this part of the world is contested, and a show of strength will go a long way.

Now, even if that doesn't convince you, even if you do not care for diplomacy or trade. Economically, we would be better off buying a couple of new planes. I saw a quote for a Boeing similar to the ones that we fly. I mean, it will be used, but it's sitting somewhere with 30 years flying still left in it and it's sitting somewhere around $35-40 million. Sound like a lot to you? So you're gonna be spending $70-80 million to buy a couple of those planes.

The planes that we are flying at the moment that keep breaking down cost us $70 million in maintenance - just in the last two years. That's two new planes right there. Every year that we keep on flying these old birds, we're wasting the money. So every single year that we continue to fly them from here on in, that's a new plane flushed down the toilet. Because we insist on being povos. So we just need to stop doing this. Stop being cheap. Stop trying to sweat the last bit of life out of these planes - which is now becoming more expensive than just buying new ones. Stop pretending that we can fly the Prime Minister commercially. Just buy two new planes.

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