Port strike focuses attention on container creep

Industrial action by the Maritime Union at the Ports of Auckland is wrong but may come with a silver lining for Auckland residents says Heart of the City chief executive Alex Swney.

“We don’t want to kick the port while its down. But perhaps it takes a standoff like this to really focus attention on whether or not we actually want more containers cluttering up our doorstep,” Swney says.

“We need to take a wider view on this critical issue of ports capacity and the wider economic possibilities of what could be the most valuable coastal real estate in New Zealand.”

Heart of the City, which is funded by central ratepayers to represent the interests of Auckland’s CBD, has consistently challenged the port’s expansionist plans. It also says the industrial action is old-fashioned and out of touch with modern work practices.

“We don’t want to have the debate about what’s best for Auckland’s waterfront being held hostage by short term industrial action. But we do want to have the debate. We need to have the debate,” Swney says.

Swney said Auckland businesses lament the announcement today by Maersk to reschedule some of its operations to Tauranga.