Strait airlift today?

Press, 23 September 1980, Page 1

Strait airlift today?

PA Wellington A committee of Ministers headed by the Acting Prime Minister (Mr Talboys) will decide this morning whether to reactivate “Operation Pluto” to fly people and their cars across Cook Strait All Cook Strait railferry crossings yesterday were cancelled when members of the Wellington branch of the Harbour Board Workers’ Union stopped work for 24 hours in protest against the visit of the Truxtun. Mr Taiboys said last evening that if the ferries were not sailing today, Air Force planes would be brought into service

across Cook Strait under “Operation Pluto.” The Government had not been able to get any further clarification yesterday on what decisions the trade unions had taken on protest action so a committee with power to act had been set up. On the committee with Mr Taiboys are the Minister of Defence, (Mr Thomson), the Minister of Transport (Mr McLachlan), and the Minister of Labour (Mr Bolger). If “Operation Pluto” is activated only people travelling with their cars will be flown across Cook Strait. Passengers without cars will be expected to

make their own arrangements on commercial flights. Mr Taiboys said that as in past flights under “Operation Pluto,” no freight would be carried. Earlier yesterday, Mr Taiboys said that trade union action against the Truxtun was nonsensical. People would be inconvenienced, trade unionists would lose pay, and the action w’ould achieve ingHe had been told that there had been only 40 people at a protest demonstration in Wellington in the morning. “That itself, it seems; to me, is a pretty fair indica-

tion of the attitude of people generally,” he said. Asked if the Cabinet had discussed the legality of the trade-union action, he said this was a matter for the Secretary of Labour (Mr G. Jackson). The Railways said that ferry sailings were expected to resume this morning but trade-union sources said that while only Wellington Harbour Board workers had taken action against the Truxtun yesterday, seamen, cooks and stewards, harbour board electricians, watersiders, drivers, and stevedores might still take action that could cripple harbour movements.