The decision by the port company to contract out its
workforce is not smart thinking . It is a very expensive folly that will not
bring productivity increases or increased dividends to Auckland City .
The proud health and safety record of the port could well disappear.
Tauranga has had three workforce deaths within the last two years whereas
Auckland has had none.
New Zealand needs a national port strategy and in
our region a three port strategy of Whangarei, Auckland and
Tauranga linked with a fast rail network serving the region .This merger would also break the power of the global shipping
lines which are playing each port off against each other and who are not paying a realistic
rate for port services and labour. This would allow for greater returns on investment
for communities . Perhaps Mayor Brown’s
12 % return would then become realistic. Albany
could be connected to the rail network with a station and a freight
distribution centre which would reduce the number of trucks that clog our roads
and Auckland would become the aspirational and liveable city that Mayor
Brown was elected to deliver .
Because this takes a national vision to achieve it is
always easier to demonize a waterfront workforce than make rational
decisions. We will probably slip behind the East Coast Australian ports
in performance. The poor rate payers will be paying for this foolish
decision of the Port Company and the mayor.
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