Tuesday 12 May 2009

More empty hulls

I really thought that Not the Cairns Post would have caught this one.
The grand cover headline on the weekend Cairns Post claimed that Cairns shipbuilders would be building...
"Australia's new front line hi-tech air warfare destroyers."
"Contract to build three new ships..."
"Cairns wins contract to build destroyer"
Now, someone really ought to scrutinise these claims that three monster death machines will be built in Cairns.

The truth is, they won't. I don't want to rain on the economic recovery train, but there is nothing of a sort going to happen.
The contract is to only construct the hull - not the Cairns Regional Council media type - although we may need a new one of those shortly - but a huge empty chunk of steel destined for the bottom of a defence ship - called a hull block. Actually, there does appear much similarity to the Council's media chief.
Even local Labor MP Jim Turnour got swept along on the crest of a wave.
"I'm over the moon," he told the Cairns Post's Roger Dickson, responsible for the infamous headline that Swine Flu 'might' come to Cairns.
Roger darling, you're starting to get a reputation.
"To me this is the best news I have had in a single announcement in terms of economic benefits to Cairns since I was elected," Jim said without loosing his breath.
Thanks to the Post, they included the link to the Defence Department where they state the Warfare Destroyers will be built in South Australia.
Of the $8 billion that will be spent on the three new vessels, Cairns will get a measly $200 million - or .002% - that's about as much as a few ghastly apartment blocks at Clifton Beach. This is to build some sections of the hull. Not a ship. Not the electronics. Not the pointy gun bits. Not the nice grey paint. Just bits of steel hulls. They won't even be joined together in Cairns to make a big grown-up ship. Oh no.
Never mind, don't let the truth get in the way of a great weekend headline. What a load of ship.

7 comments:

Fosnez said...

Small correction Mike:

200,000,000 / 8,000,000,000 = 0.025 = 2.5%

Michael P Moore said...

Oh, what's a dot between friends?

Syd Walker said...

The last thing FNQ needs, IMO, is to get hooked on the military spend. It's a disgusting industry on which to build any kind of economic future.

Anyhow, it's nice to hear Jim Turnour is still alive, even if he is "over the moon".

One of these days when he rejoins the inhabitants of planet earth, he might like to explain his Government's policies to an increasingly sceptical public - and even participate in some of our discussions.

Ground Control to Major Jim: "How FNQs broadband rollout coming along?"

Pez said...

.002 per cent, .25 per cent, 2.5 per cent. Dont let a statistic get in the way of a good story, specially one bashing the media over its ACCURACY.

Michael P Moore said...

It's a fair cop Pez :-(

Noj Nedlaw said...

I think Mike has just made a mathematical mistake Pez; but then what is a billion?

A billion is a cardinal number represented in the U.S. by 1 followed by 9 zeros, and in Great Britain by 1 followed by 12 zeros.

So what do we follow here in Oz? Or in NZ?

Robbie Williams said...

Don't panic Mikie. We are going to use them in the North, not to run a blockade in the pond to vet the Kiwis exodus from NZ. As for that cup of coffee (beer), If I had been holding my breath I would have died in January 2008!