Christopher Luxon’s dreams came true after Labour’s own pollsters have found a majority of voters would green-light the purchase of replacements for the aging and decrepit B757s that have embarrassed Prime Ministers from Clark to Key, to Ardern and now Luxon.
A majority of New Zealanders want the Government to buy new Defence Force planes, to replace the breakdown-prone Boeing 757s used to fly the Prime Minister overseas for official engagements.
That’s according to new Talbot Mills polling data, provided to Newstalk ZB, which shows 51.5% of those polled think new planes should be bought to replace the old ones.
That compares with 27.6% who said no and 20.9% who are unsure.
The poll was taken in the days after the Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s trip to Japan last month, where a 757s breakdown left him temporarily grounded in Papua New Guinea.
That was the latest in a long string of breakdowns the plane has suffered recently; it’s the second time it’s happened this year alone.
Luxon said the most recent breakdown was frustrating; his Defence Minister Judith Collins said the situation was “embarrassing”.
“These are very old planes, they’re over 23 years old. These would normally not be used commercially now at this stage,” she told RNZ.
Newstalk ZB understands the Prime Minister’s office is keen to see the situation resolved as quickly as possible.
NZ Herald
Buying new planes would be horrendously expensive. Perhaps a better option would be to buy replacement planes for Air Force and Defence requirements only, and the PM can wet lease a suitable corporate jet or just charter them when needed.
The Air Force needs militarised aircraft, not converted commercial aircraft. The PM needs commercial or corporate aircraft: the two propositions are incompatible.
But Luxon, being a former AirNZ CEO probably has some good contacts at Boeing he could call for sharp pricing on aircraft. He’d also be smart to get Labour onboard for replacements too, otherwise they’ll use the replacement plans as a stick to beat him with.
But what the hell would I know? Some of you know far more than me: discuss in the comments.
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