If you want to develop your listening skills, try these tasks as you listen to the text. The answers are at the bottom of this page, after the Vocabulary. Thanks to Natasha Groves for preparing the tasks.
If you want to listen and read, just scroll down to the text.
1. Listening for main ideas
First, just listen to the text, taking notes if you wish. What information can you catch during this first listening?
2. Now listen again and answer the following questions:
- What did the government announce last week?
- Do we know how much the new ferries will cost? Why/ Why not?
- Who is Winston Peters and what is his role in this project?
- What was the first plan for new ferries?
- Why did the new government cancel the first plan?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of rail-enabled ferries?
- What is the condition of the current ferries?
Text
Last week the government announced their plan for buying new ferries for Cook Strait (which is the water that separates the North and South Islands).
The government will set up a new company to purchase two new ferries and has set aside some money for this, although the amount was not revealed because the Finance Minister, Nicola Willis, said it was commercially sensitive. The new company will start looking for new ferries soon. The Deputy Prime Minister, Winston Peters, was appointed Minister for Rail. He will oversee the negotiations and purchase of the ferries for KiwiRail, who operate the trains and ferries in New Zealand. It is expected that the ferries will begin operation on Cook Strait in 2029.
This is the second plan for new ferries, in fact. In 2018, the Labour and New Zealand First coalition government decided to buy two mega rail-enabled ferries from a company in Korea, which were due to arrive in 2026. The cost was going to be $551 million, but because the ferries were so large, the ports and terminals in both Wellington and Picton needed upgrades. When the new government came in last year, they cancelled this plan because they said the upgrades meant the cost of the project had increased to $3 billion. The Finance Minister said on Wednesday that the new ferries will cost less than those in the previous plan, although the actual costs are not yet known.
One major question is whether the new ferries will be rail-enabled or not. Rail-enabled means that the ferry has train tracks, so freight trains can drive onto and off the ferry. This makes loading freight a lot faster. However, rail-enabled ferries may be more expensive. When asked about this on Thursday, Winston Peters said that ferries that can carry trains are cheaper in the long-term because they avoid extra costs involved in moving freight off a train and onto a ferry and back off again when the ferry reaches the other island. He said that rail-enabled ferries are a “no-brainer” and they will consider them.
KiwiRail currently has three ferries, but they are all quite old. They should be safe to operate for the next five years, but they may need repairs more often. These repairs may also be quite expensive or take more time than in the past.
There is a private company, Bluebridge, which also runs ferries across Cook Strait.
Vocabulary
ferry – a boat that carries people or goods across a river or a narrow area of water
set aside – to keep a particular amount of money for a special purpose
oversee – to be in charge of a project and check that it’s done correctly
purchase – to buy (verb), or the act of buying something (noun)
mega – very large or impressive
port – a place where ships load and unload goods
terminal – a big building where people wait to get onto planes, ferries, or buses
upgrade – to improve something
cancel – to stop something, to decide that something official that was planned will not happen
freight – goods that are transported by ship, planes, trains, or trucks, and the system of transporting goods in this way
no-brainer – a decision that is easy (an informal expression)
Answers
a. What did the government announce last week?
A plan to buy new Cook Strait ferries
b. Do we know how much the new ferries will cost? Why/ Why not?
No, we don’t. The Finance Minister says the cost is commercially sensitive.
c. Who is Winston Peters and what is his role in this project?
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Rail. He will oversee the purchase of the new ferries
d. What was the first plan for new ferries?
In 2018, the former government decided to buy two rail-enabled ferries from a Korean company at a cost of $551 million. The ports and terminals in Wellington and Picton would need upgrades because the new ferries were so big.
e. Why did the new government cancel the first plan?
Because the cost of the project had increased to $3 billion.
f. What are the advantages and disadvantages of rail-enabled ferries?
Advantages:
Trains can go on the ferries. This makes loading freight a lot faster, and cheaper in the long-term.
Disadvantages:
They may be more expensive.
Upgrades to ports and terminals may be required depending on the size of the ferries (in the first plan the ferries were so large that upgrades were necessary)
g. What is the condition of the current ferries?
They are quite old. They are safe but may need repairs more often.