November 1, 2006

The Mari­time Uni­on says that co-oper­a­tion between ports and regions is vital to the future of the mari­time industry and New Zea­l­and.

Mari­time Uni­on Gen­er­al Sec­ret­ary Tre­vor Han­son says the pro­posed mer­ger of Ports of Auck­land and Port of Taur­anga needs to be man­aged as part of a nation­al ports strategy driv­en by region­al co-oper­a­tion.

He says that the recent coastal ship­ping report by the Ship­ping Fed­er­a­tion and the announce­ment of a Gov­ern­ment review into cas­u­al­iz­a­tion of employ­ment showed that good work was being done on the prob­lems faced by the mari­time industry.