Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. Photo / Dean Purcell
A breakdown in PNG, and an 11th-hour rescue mission from Air NZ: The final bill revealed.
It can now be revealed the costs associated with the breakdown of the Defence Force 757 plane transporting the Prime Minister and a more than 50-person delegation to Japan amounted to more than $65,000.
That’s made up of $30,000 spent to cover Chris Luxon, his wife Amanda and three staff members’ last-minute dash from Papua New Guinea to Japan, via Hong Kong.
A further $63,000 was spent on diverting an Air New Zealand plane from Auckland to Brisbane to pick up the contingent of media, business delegates, officials and a Kapa Haka group – who had been left stranded by the plane’s breakdown.
The Government’s undertaken cost-recovery for the business delegates – meaning the final cost to taxpayers for picking up the rest of the group amounted to $36,500.
The bill is likely to put further pressure on the Government to accelerate its plans to replace the breakdown-prone 757s.
Recent Talbot Mills figures showed 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.
Luxon has previously said the Government has new military leadership and a Defence capability review under way.
“The 757 replacement will be a component of that and the Defence Force is working on that and will continue to do so ... they’re working on that with pace.”
Last month’s plane breakdown was an enormous distraction for Luxon, during his trip to Japan.
As the plane was being refuelled in Papua New Guinea, a Defence spokesman revealed a fuse had blown on the rear of the aircraft; this impacted altitude regulation.
This meant the 757 could not make it to Japan but did have the ability to fly five hours south to Brisbane – which it did, taking the media, the travelling kapa haka group and the business delegation to the airport the morning after the breakdown.
Luxon, meanwhile, caught a flight from Port Moresby to Japan, with a five-hour layover in Hong Kong.
Text messages from Luxon to his chief of staff Cam Burrows, obtained through the Official Information Act, show the PM organising a plan to put Trade Minister Todd McClay in charge of those “stranded” in PNG.
“Godspeed,” Burrows told Luxon, ahead of his flight out of Port Moresby.
Meanwhile, Luxon was texting Air New Zealand boss Greg Foran – hatching a plan to get the rest of the delegation from Brisbane to Toyko.
Foran – who was part of the business delegation – along with Air New Zealand Chairwoman Dame Therese Walsh were able to divert an Auckland-to-Toyko flight to Brisbane to pick up the stragglers.
“Thanks so much for all your help getting the delegation to Japan,” Luxon texted Foran, and Walsh at 1am on Monday, June 17.
“I’ve just landed in HK and we’re here for 5 hours before 4 hr flight to Tokyo arriving ... 8am. Will see you Monday night.”
Foran responded at 5.30am the next morning: “No problem Christopher. A team effort and hopefully the few hurdles we still need to overcome today are surmountable and we will land into Narita tonight at 2000 hours. See you Tuesday.”
Later that day, upon boarding the diverted flight, Foran apologised to passengers for the change in plan, before joining Walsh on drink cart duty – pouring wines to passengers during the flight.