Railway union rejects Govt transport paper

Press, 25 October 1982, Page 6

Railway union rejects Govt transport paper

PA Wellington Recommendations in a Ministry of Transport discussion paper, mapping out the future of land transport and the lifting of the 150 km limit, have been rejected by the National Union of Railwaymen

The union said that there would be "huge environmental and social costs" resulting from the "dramatic" policy change mooted. The union's general secretary. Mr Don Goodfellow, condemned the paper as "technically deficient. " In its- submission on the paper the union said that it had been prepared by "ex-

ports with little or no practical knowledge or experience of the industry about which they appear so willing to make recommendations without any apparent concern for the human consequences."

‘After careful analysis (of

the paper) we are convinced that the initial reaction of the General Manager of Railways was correct — the paper belongs in the rubbish basket." Mr Goodfellow said that the union had lodged a "bulky" submission on the paper with the Secretary for Transport. The union had commis-

sioned an independent con-sultant-economist to prepare a cost-benefit analysis of its recommendations ' from a national viewpoint. he said.

“The consultant's report reveals that the Ministry is more than $44 million a year out in its calculations.

"The discussion paper claims that there will be a net national benefit of $37 million a year from lifting the 150 km limit. The independent consultant demonstrates that in fact there will be at least a $7 million a year national cost." said Mr Goodfellow.