1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,400 Speaker 1: Right now, the country's largest cement supplier says that we 2 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,600 Speaker 1: will soon have five hundred extra heavy trucks on the 3 00:00:06,680 --> 00:00:11,240 Speaker 1: roads every month, basically cuting cement around. It was going 4 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:14,120 Speaker 1: by sea, Holson the name of the business. They wanted 5 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:18,040 Speaker 1: to use a foreign flagged vessel with foreign crew to 6 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:21,560 Speaker 1: operate for three years while they sought a new vessel 7 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:24,079 Speaker 1: out because the old one that they were using, the 8 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:28,520 Speaker 1: MV Buffalo, well that's basically sick it. It's end of 9 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:31,560 Speaker 1: life stuff. The problem with all of this is the 10 00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:35,080 Speaker 1: Minister has denied it. The Associate Transport Minister, James Mega 11 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 1: denied this request and the Minister is with me now. Minister, 12 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:40,800 Speaker 1: good to have you on the program tonight. What's the 13 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:44,800 Speaker 1: reason for doing this? I understand Holson is now having 14 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:46,880 Speaker 1: to move everything on the road. 15 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:53,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's pretty tight criteria under the Maritime Act. Essentially, 16 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:55,760 Speaker 2: you've got to be satisfied that there's no other ship 17 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:59,960 Speaker 2: available to carry the coastal cargo. And yes, I was 18 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 2: satisfied of that there was no other ship available. But 19 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:05,199 Speaker 2: then you've also got to be satisfied that what Nova 20 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:07,399 Speaker 2: wanted to do meets the intent of the Act and 21 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:10,520 Speaker 2: the intent of the Act is actually to restrict coastal 22 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:14,080 Speaker 2: shipping to basically New Zealand vessels unless you give that authorization, 23 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:17,280 Speaker 2: and you tend to only give authorizations to carry things 24 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:21,520 Speaker 2: for a very short or temporary period to make up 25 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:23,840 Speaker 2: a bit of a gap. In this instance, it just 26 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:25,040 Speaker 2: didn't make that criteria. 27 00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:27,319 Speaker 1: Okay, I understand that. But you could change the little 28 00:01:27,319 --> 00:01:29,600 Speaker 1: couldn't you. But you could make an exemption to it. 29 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:32,720 Speaker 1: I mean, because they're basically saying they're going to have 30 00:01:32,760 --> 00:01:35,480 Speaker 1: to put five hundred trucks of cement a month on 31 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:38,200 Speaker 1: the roads, and we know our roads aren't great, and 32 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:40,120 Speaker 1: that when it comes time to go back to the 33 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:42,640 Speaker 1: coastal shipping in three years, well actually they may not 34 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:43,319 Speaker 1: want to do that. 35 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:46,720 Speaker 2: Yeah. Look, I hear those arguments, and I know they've 36 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:49,400 Speaker 2: made those arguments publicly, but they weren't part of what 37 00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:51,800 Speaker 2: I had to consider as part of the statute. The 38 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:57,000 Speaker 2: statute's relatively narrow, and ministers can't go outside what's relevant 39 00:01:57,040 --> 00:01:59,280 Speaker 2: or not relevant when they're making that decision. So I 40 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:02,880 Speaker 2: know there are lots of arguments around jobs and around 41 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:05,480 Speaker 2: how you might have to shift the cement on the road, 42 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:07,560 Speaker 2: But I had to make the decision based on the 43 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:09,440 Speaker 2: statute and that's fair. Fair. 44 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:11,800 Speaker 1: So now that you do know that information, what are 45 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:12,440 Speaker 1: you going to do with it? 46 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:16,720 Speaker 2: Well, there's no plans to amend the statute at this point. 47 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:19,840 Speaker 2: You know, it's always possible that people can write to 48 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:22,239 Speaker 2: me and make the case that amendment could be made, 49 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:23,600 Speaker 2: But we've got to look at what the purpose of 50 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 2: the statute is. Coastal shipping in New Zealand is primarily 51 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:32,120 Speaker 2: a domestic activity. We do have international shipping companies come 52 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:35,880 Speaker 2: in here bringing cargo from overseas in but we tend 53 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 2: to have coastal shipping to be something that is done 54 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:41,000 Speaker 2: by New Zealand ships or with New Zealand based crews, 55 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:43,520 Speaker 2: and that's been the case for quite a long time. 56 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:45,440 Speaker 2: It'd be quite a big change to open that up 57 00:02:45,480 --> 00:02:50,160 Speaker 2: to international vessels operating under international law, which has different 58 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:53,119 Speaker 2: workplace laws and pay laws and health and safety laws 59 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:54,239 Speaker 2: to what we have here in New Zealand. 60 00:02:54,320 --> 00:02:57,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, but I totally understand that. But if the net 61 00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:02,320 Speaker 1: result of your action is three years there's no coastal 62 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:07,360 Speaker 1: shipping for these fifteen thousand tons of cement, then that 63 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:11,720 Speaker 1: would be a big negative, a big cross against the decision, right, 64 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:14,000 Speaker 1: So are you going to be practical about it or 65 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 1: do you think these guys are just crying well for publicity. 66 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:20,120 Speaker 2: Well, I guess the flip side to that argument would be, 67 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:23,120 Speaker 2: what about the other coastal shipping companies that do run 68 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:26,160 Speaker 2: New Zealand vessels. If there is no longer a requirement 69 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:28,880 Speaker 2: to have New Zealand feed vessels or New Zealand crews, 70 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:31,680 Speaker 2: they may well then be incentivised in order to compete 71 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:34,080 Speaker 2: with foreign vessels to have their own foreign vessels in here, 72 00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:36,000 Speaker 2: and then all of a sudden the entire coastal shipping 73 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:39,440 Speaker 2: network falls to bits. So ultimately, that's something that we 74 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:42,360 Speaker 2: have to consider when we're making these decisions. There are 75 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:44,560 Speaker 2: people out there who advocate for change, but it's not 76 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:47,360 Speaker 2: something that we've considered in this case. And you know, 77 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:49,600 Speaker 2: you've got to think about the long term viability of 78 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:51,880 Speaker 2: coastal shipping in New Zealand and New Zealand sea fearers. 79 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:53,920 Speaker 2: That's got to be part of the consideration. 80 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:56,280 Speaker 1: All right. Have you had conversations with Winston Peters about it? 81 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:00,360 Speaker 2: Not do really with mister Peters, but I know that 82 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:05,080 Speaker 2: mister Jones has made his views quite clear on these 83 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:09,480 Speaker 2: kinds of issues and we take our coalition colleagues concerns 84 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:11,760 Speaker 2: very seriously and it actually we work quite well. So 85 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:15,760 Speaker 2: that's probably I think pretty few to say. 86 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:17,840 Speaker 1: All right, Minister willieve it. They appreciate your time tonight, 87 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:20,880 Speaker 1: James Omega, who's the Associate Transport Minister. 88 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:23,880 Speaker 2: For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive. 89 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:27,440 Speaker 1: Listen live to news talks. It'd be from four pm weekdays, 90 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:29,760 Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.