Government studies foreign shippers

By PAM GRAHAM

The Government is checking pricing by foreign shipping companies operating New Zealand coastal services and has promised a response to the Shipping Industry Review by May.

Transport Minister Paul Swain told a regional trade union conference on transport policy yesterday that he knew unions and some shipping companies wanted cabotage - the exclusive right of local ships to carry local freight - reinstated.

Swain asked those who believed that pricing by foreign shippers was affecting the New Zealand shipping industry to provide evidence so his officials could investigate.

He said only 7 per cent of New Zealand's coastal cargo was picked up by foreign ships.

"If cabotage policy were to be re-considered, the implications for coastal freight rates would be a real issue," the minister said.

He said the Government would make a formal response to the Shipping Industry Review by May.

The review said port companies had a case to answer over accusations that they were behaving like monopolies.

But another report, by consultants Charles River Associates, said the industry was generally competitive.

Reporters were excluded from a question and answer session between the minister and unionists.

The two-day talkfest about the impact of changing transport policy on workers also is discussing port security, the proposed Qantas alliance with Air New Zealand and the prospect of nationalising the rail network.

Sharan Burrow, president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, and Simon Des Baux, of the International Transport Workers Federation, were at the conference.

The conference, the first of its type for unions, reflected the cross-border nature of policy issues affecting workers, said Council of Trade Unions secretary Paul Goulter.

Port security was a looming issue. Australia had expensive x-ray sites for containers while New Zealand was still considering options.

Goulter said security affected workers, particularly casuals, and screening of containers would also affect regional ports if sites were in major centres.