Cheap-fare ball now in N.Z.’s court

Press, 19 January 1979, Page 1

Cheap-fare ball now in N.Z.’s court

NZPA Sydney' The Australian Minister of Transport (Mr Peter Nixon) yesterday virtually challenged the New Zealand Government and Air New Zealand to produce proposals for cheap air fares between Australia and the United States. Mr Nixon said on a Sydney radio programme that apart from a limited and unacceptable offer from Pan American Airways, noone outside Australia had offered reduced fares to the United States. Referring to Air New Zealand’s criticism of the new low fares granted to

Qantas and Pan American, he said: “What we are allowing, and are very delighted to welcome, would be a cheap fare to New Zealand and a cheap fare from New Zealand to North America, and for the Australian traveller if he so chooses to fly that route rather than to fly direct by Qantas. “The purpose of my policy is to open it up—• not to close it down.” Mr Nixon said that a single cheap fare had been negotiated for Australian and American carriers but Air New Zealand need not be prevented from carrying travellers via New Zealand.

The fares, he said, would need to be competitive. New Zealand and Australian aviation officials were to have held discussions in Wellington on February 19, but these will now be held from February 27 until March 2. Senior Australian Government aviation officials have agreed to a New Zealand request that the talks be delayed until after a meeting of the Australian Transport Advisory' Council in Canberra on February 23.

The New Zealand .Minister of Transport (Mr McLachlan) will attend the Advisory Council meeting in Canberra

and expects to meet 1 Mr Nixon on February 27 i and hold informal talks i with him on cheaper Pacific air fares. 1 New Zealand Ministers 1 are regular observers at the t Advisory Council meetings, i which are attended by Fed- i eral and state Ministers. The officials’ meeting in * i Wellington is expected to ; concentrate on Tasman air < rights and fares, and Mr ( McLachlan’s meeting with i Mr Nixon might help to t ease some of the tension that has developed because r of the Australian moves. c Mr McLachlan said yesterday that Mr Nixon had, e in effect broken faith by r allowing the new cheap c

fares to the United States without including Air New Zealand. “I spoke to Mr Nixon late last year and I believed then that the Australian Government had no intention of harming New Zealand interests,” he said. It is believed that the Acting Secretary of Transport (Mr J. Healy) will accompany Mr McLachlan to Canberra. Senior officials usually meet the day before the Ministers. The Australian Government has come under increasing pressure from several Governments since its recent introduction of cheap no-stop-over trips to

Britain and the United States.

The Association of South-East Asian Nations (A.S.E.A.N.) is upset about the no-stopover provision in the British fares, which it alleges will disrupt its tourist industry. The association also wants its national airlines to be allowed to carry passengers to Britain at the reduced fares, which are restricted to Qantas and British Airways.

The new cheap air fares from Australia to the United States begin at sAust43o (SNZ46O) return in the off-season.

Clerical workers who resigned from their union, have now been allowed to vote in a union ballot on compulsory membership. — Page 3 Magistrate, with the assistance of Bob Skelton, should test Tamboura in the Wellington Cup tomorrow. — Page 7 A South Canterbury farmer, who holds strong views about the Government’s supplementation of farm produce prices, returned a payment he received to the Minister of Finance (Mr Muldoon). He states the reasons for his action in an item on the farm pages this morning. — Pages 12 and 13 Pakistan coasted to an ' easy victory against Central Districts, at Palmerston North yesterday. — Back page J