Robert MacCulloch
Robert MacCulloch is a native of New Zealand and worked at the Reserve Bank of NZ before he travelled to the UK to complete a PhD in Economics at Oxford University.
The sinking of the Navy’s Manawanui ship is an environmental and economic catastrophe for Samoa and New Zealand. Defense Minister Collins and Rear Admiral Golding told the press they would not comment on the causes of the sinking, saying there would be a Court of Inquiry to find out what happened ... and then immediately proceeded to comment on the possible causes of the sinking and pre-judge that very court.
Golding, who was appointed by Collins little over one month ago, praised the leadership of the ship’s commander, saying she made the right call to evacuate and “saved lives”. How does he know she made the right call without holding all the evidence, which will only come out in an inquiry.
Who knows what happened? Maybe after the ship hit the reef and began taking on water, it could’ve still been saved. Maybe the crew panicked, abandoning ship too early? Maybe after leaving the ship it then caught fire and with no one left to extinguish the flames, it was the fire that caused the complete sinking. That would imply a terrible error of judgment on behalf of NZ’s Defense Ministry, Collins, who probably knew of the decision as it was being made, and the ship’s crew.
Minister Collins has now speculated about the ship losing power, again pre-judging the court. Even if it did, why weren’t anchors dropped? For Minister Collins and the Navy chief to apportion blame (since saying the ship lost power blames engineers) and condoning the abandonment before the court of inquiry is so wrong.
When the Rena partially sank off Tauranga Harbour, salvage bills ended up topping $600 million. The sinking of the Manawanui is on a different scale. It may put diesel poison into Samoa’s food supply for decades. Collins stated, “This could have been a truly terrible day.” What’s she on about? It was a terrible day. Is she only talking about the crew? Doesn’t she care about the consequences for Samoans?
The sinking has blown the entire budget savings which the finance minister has called for in our health system, assuming NZ faces its responsibilities and engages in the multi-billion dollar clean-up that will have to be subcontracted to other countries, since we don’t have the required equipment.
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This article was originally published by Down to Earth Kiwi.
