Smelter deadlock broken

Press, 25 June 1983, Page 1

Smelter deadlock broken

PA Invercargill Talks involving Cabinet Ministers in Australia and New Zealand have succeeded in breaking a deadlock which cut off supplies of bulk alumina to the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter. The smelter’s crucial lifeline to alumina supplies in Queensland was cut in a dispute involving the manning of a new bulk carrier, the TNT Alltrans. The smelter, for the first time, was under threat of having to close because of the dispute. However, long-term plans were now assured, according to the smelter’s community relations officer, Mr John Petre. The Alltrans has been unable to berth at Bluff because of a black ban applied by the New Zealand Merchant Service Guild, whose officers wanted a 50 per cent manning arrangement with Australian officers. The New Zealand guild’s general secretary, Captain J. W. Dickinson, said in Wellington yesterday that the guild had dropped the claim and instead accepted a Comalco offer of 10 jobs on a ship carrying aluminium away from the smelter. The Minister of Transport, Mr Gair, said he was pleased with the outcome of the negotiations, but pointed out that a further step was still necessary — Comalco had to seek the concurrence of its Japanese partners.