climate
New Zealand quarrels over replacement plane for PM
A plane intended to take the New Zealand Prime Minister to China has caused problems in the past. photo
© Nick Perry/AP
New Zealand’s prime minister left for his trip to China in two planes. That causes trouble. But there have been many mishaps in the past – including in Antarctica.
New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins’ trip to China has already caused trouble upon arrival. Reason: Due to concerns about the reliability of the plane with which the head of government is traveling, the machine was accompanied by an empty Boeing 757 on Sunday.
The opposition heavily criticized the measure in the midst of the climate crisis: According to media reports, the leader of the National Party, Christopher Luxon, pointed out the high carbon emissions, which were completely unnecessary.
Labor leader Hipkins is in China with a large business delegation until Friday. He wanted to meet with head of state and party leader Xi Jinping today.
Again and again breakdowns
The escort aircraft was intended to avoid breakdowns of the kind that have happened in the past, wrote the New Zealand Herald newspaper. Because the rulers of the Pacific state have often had bad luck with their planes on official trips:
Ex-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was stranded in Antarctica in 2022 and had to be rescued by an Italian plane. Also in the previous year, the C-130 Hercules of ex-Defense Minister Peeni Henare gave up the ghost in the Solomon Islands. Back in 2016, then Prime Minister John Key had to partially cancel a trip to India because his plane broke down in Townsville, Australia.
Hipkins’ spokesman tried to placate that the second plane had not even flown to China, but only to the Philippines. You should now fly on to Darwin, Australia, and provide support from there if necessary. However, ACT party leader David Seymour calculated: “The emissions generated by the additional aircraft are equivalent to driving a Ford Ranger three times the distance of a trip to the moon.” New Zealand’s aircraft fleet is “embarrassingly old and run down.”