The Maritime Union says the election of a Labor
Government in Australia could provide potential benefits for
trans-Tasman shipping.
Maritime Union of New Zealand
National Secretary Craig Harrison says the re-introduction
of Australian and New Zealand flagged and crewed vessels was
an obvious way forward to solve ongoing transport
disruption.
He says there has been a huge change in
attitudes towards local shipping with industry now demanding
reliable and secure shipping – a transformation from
“just in time” to “just in case” thinking in the
logistics sector.
Mr Harrison says there was strong
potential with similar Government’s in both countries that
could align shipping policies and build regional transport
links.
“We have had some very positive results in
New Zealand with the Government working with local shipping
companies to develop coastal shipping, and there are strong
reasons to expand this to regional shipping
services.”
He says dedicated trans-Tasman shipping
could assist with the ongoing congestion and delays in
international shipping.
“It is essential New Zealand
and Australia build up our blue water shipping capacity and
have our own crews and ships providing secure supply
chains.”
In the 50 years since Norm Kirk first promised to take the bikes off the bikies, our politicians have tried again and again to win votes by promising to crack down on gangs. Canterbury University academic Jarrod Gilbert (an expert on New Zealand’s gang culture) recently gave chapter and verse on the decades of political posturing about gangs – led by the likes of Mike Moore and others – and the paltry outcomes, which have consistently been ineffectual. In today’s political climate, Gilbert’s research into the 1990s political panic about gangs still remains highly relevant…
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