Control of Shipping

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXVI, Issue 119, 4 May 1936, Page 8

Control of Shipping

(To the Editor.) Sir,—lf attention is not given in tho next future to legislation which will make it possible lor this country to have shipping to compete with foreign lines much of our wealth and opportunity will be forfeited. Tiansportation is the twin brother of trade. Deepsea shipping is most essential to the fortunes of a country situated in the middle of the Pacific ocean No country lives to itself alone. New Zealand may have riches in abundance, but without ships may be profited onlyvery slightly by this fact. If tie are to meet tho requirements of the new reforms our provincialism and fear of initiative, together with lack of know ■ ledge, must be changed. Our trade may be practically given over to outsiders to transport—and to control—and the loss to the country may be enormous. In case New Zealand decides not to have a merchant marine, the country would give over to other nations some £5,000,000 per year in freight charges alone, not counting passengers, tourists, mails, costs ot repairs, wages, stores, etc., which would be paid into foreign treasuries. For the past 20 years New Zealand has bought and paid for in freight charges alone the equivalent perliaps of 100,000 tons of shipping. And for the next 20 years wc shall proceed to pay in freight charges for hundreds of tons of shipping. Shall the Government own and operate the vessels? Should ships be owned and run by private firms under an absolute public control? Shall New Zealand have chartered ships ? Or shall we follow a suggestion that the country should own ships and lease them to private operators? In any case it is quite clear that only the operators of ships must be heli) responsible to develop New Zealand overseas trade. Whosoever commands the sea commands the trade. A slowmoving Parliament, ill informed and more or less indifferent to all matters outside the confines of New Zealand, an impassable jungle of departments, export boards, executive commissions, committees, bureaus, etc., are certainly powerless in the problems of selecting New Zealand trade routes and organising efficient transportation of goods. As continued maintenance of best ship, ping available is of vital importance to our producers, exporters and importers, they should require the employment of national vessels in the carrying of their shipments of exports and imports. There is little doubt that New Zealand export business has been badly injured by lack of persistent effort to open up new markets and to hold markets already gained. But here and there we see indications of better days in changed and acquired (by special treaties) trade relations for us in these days to have the courage of our convictions. The necessity of developing trade, especially in the Pacific basin and Far Eastern waters—to absorb tho surplus in production of this country—points to another necessity of establishing national shipping. We should have ocean earners ready to steam to ports where a shortage of our products is felt, and where there is a possibility to dispose of them at a profit.—Yours, ALEXANDER S. TETZNER. Patumahoe, May 2. 1936.