infonews.co.nz
INDEX
MARINE

Lack of regulation puts coastline at risk

Tuesday 29 May 2012, 12:06AM

By Labour Party

263 views

A review of whether unregulated coastal shipping is putting our marine environment at risk should be a top priority for the Government in the wake of the Rena disaster, Labour’s transport spokesperson Phil Twyford says.

The call follows the earmarking $35 million in the budget for the Rena clean up, courtroom revelations of the shocking incompetence that led to the Rena grounding, and new information from Maritime NZ of hundreds of groundings and near misses along New Zealand’s coastline.

“Given that coastal shipping has been unregulated since the 1990s, it is perhaps time to re-think the practice and review whether it is in New Zealand’s best interests,” Phil Twyford said.

“Many of the ships working our coast are foreign flagged, poorly maintained and employ crew on Third World wages.

‘Once they leave port they are operating in a completely unregulated environment, without labour, safety or environmental standards. For all the government knows, they could be using road maps to navigate.

“Labour has been calling for a full, independent inquiry into the Rena disaster. That inquiry should also give serious consideration to whether unregulated coastal shipping is putting our precious coastline at risk or whether new approaches are needed.

“Australia’s federal government recently reserved that country’s ‘blue highway’ for Australian ships crewed by Australian seafarers partly because it believed unregulated foreign shipping posed an environmental risk to its coastline.

“New Zealand has one of the most unregulated coastlines in the western world. If Australia can protect its coastline, then there’s no reason we can’t do the same.

“The Government rightly has insisted that charter fishing vessels fishing our EEZ will have to be New Zealand-flagged to wipe out dangerous and inhumane labour conditions on those boats.

“It is time we gave the coastal shipping trade the same kind of scrutiny,” said Phil Twyford.