Maritime Union backs public ownership plan for rail and ferries

The Mari­time Uni­on says Gov­ern­ment plans to bring rail and fer­ries back under pub­lic own­er­ship would be a major step for­ward for New Zea­l­and.

Mari­time Uni­on Gen­er­al Sec­ret­ary Tre­vor Han­son says the move is long over­due and is required to bring New Zeal­and’s trans­port infra­struc­ture up to world stand­ards.

“We need an integ­rated trans­port sys­tem in New Zea­l­and that has a sub­stan­tial pub­lic-owned com­pon­ent for secur­ity and sta­bil­ity.”

Mr Han­son says dereg­u­la­tion has led to huge dam­age to rail and ship­ping.

“For example, we have had massive growth in fuel-inef­fi­cient, con­ges­tion-cre­at­ing road trans­port, where­as low impact modes such as ship­ping and rail have been let to run down.”

He says both rail and ship­ping are the trans­port of the future in a world where cli­mate change and peak oil were massive threats.

Mr Han­son says more dir­ec­tion is needed in the trans­port industry and pub­lic own­er­ship of key infra­struc­ture would make this pos­sible.

He says the next step should be a nation­al ports policy that brings ports under pub­lic own­er­ship and makes them work co-oper­at­ively for the nation­al interest.

“An effi­cient trans­port and logist­ics sec­tor is essen­tial for New Zea­l­and as a trad­ing nation, and leav­ing it to the mar­ket and private interests has been a big fat fail­ure.”

Mr Han­son cri­ti­cized neg­at­ive com­ments from the Nation­al Party MP Bill Eng­lish on pub­lic own­er­ship and “feath­er-bed­ding”.

“Bill Eng­lish knows noth­ing about the trans­port sec­tor apart from being driv­en around in the back of a tax­pay­er-paid lim­ousine, and the only feath­er-bed­ding that has gone on in trans­port is for the cor­por­ate pred­at­ors who Nation­al sold off our assets to at bar­gain base­ment prices.”

Mr Han­son says Mr Eng­lish should try to lash some loose cargo on a Cook Strait ferry in a gale before he casts asper­sions on New Zea­l­and sea­farers.

He says the leg­acy of the 1990s Nation­al Gov­ern­ment policies in trans­port was a failed sys­tem, attacks on work­ers pay and con­di­tions, and worst of all, death and injury through the run­down of health and safety prac­tices.

ENDS

For more inform­a­tion, con­tact Mari­time Uni­on Gen­er­al Sec­ret­ary Tre­vor Han­son on 021390585

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