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Timothy Welch, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

NZ will soon have no real interisland rail-ferry link – why are we so bad at infrastructure planning?

Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

Another week, another Cook Strait ferry breakdown. As the winter maintenance season approaches and the Aratere prepares for its final months of service, New Zealand faces a self-imposed crisis.

The government has spent NZ$507.3 million on cancelled iReX ferry plans, the country’s fleet has an average age of 28 years, and the earliest New Zealanders can hope for promised replacements is 2029.

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