Seamen Go To Farmers

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31107, 9 July 1966, Page 1

Seamen Go To Farmers

The secretary of the Lyttelton branch of the New Zealand Seamen’s Union (Mr T. Kelly) plans to drive throughout Canterbury delivering pamphlets opposing increasing shipping freight costs to farmers and farmers’ organisations. Mr Kelly has 10,000 pamphlets to deliver.

The four-page pamphlets advocate a New Zealandowned national shipping line. They are on pink paper.

The pamphlet invites such bodies as farmers’ organisations and women’s organisations to invite a speaker from the Seamen’s Union to address their meetings on. the subject of a national I

shipping line and shipping freight costs. “The pamphlets tell how New Zealand’s major primary industries rely on overseas markets and how we need cheap freight to keep those markets,” said Mr Kelly.

“The overseas Conference Lines’ control of the shipping has meant higher and higher freights for New Zealand farmers and high prices for imported goods. “The P. and O. Line, which owns such shipping companies as the Union Steam Ship Company, and the New Zealand Shipping Company, and 138 other companies owning a total of 289 ships, made a working profit of £23,280,000 last year. “The P. and O. Line dominates the Conference Lines, which carry 75 per cent of all our exports and 55 per cent of our imports.” Mr Kelly said that many

| other countries had shown 'that a national shipping line was possible. India, Ghana, Australia and Burma all had State-owned shipping lines, he said. The New Zealand Government was running a successful overseas airline. “Part of the Government’s 40 per cent increase in the defence expenditure is to pay for Whitby-class frigates,” he said. “The latest frigate will cost about £6m. This sum would more than meet the cost of two refrigerated cargo ships of 12,000 tons. This would be a start.”

Mr Kelly said that the outstanding success of the Aramoana proved that if approached in a realistic way, a State-run line would pay dividends for this country. The first year of operation of the Aramoana, he said, showed a net profit of £535,000 and the second year a net profit of £794,000.