NZ Port Reform: Joyce sees no Govt role in facilitating port reform
November 26th, 2009
Centreport chairman Warren Larsen is the latest port official to call for Govt leadership in port reform. Larsen says port shareholders are protective of their assets and may need a helping hand from central Govt. Ports of Auckland’s owner Auckland Regional Holdings has also suggested help from Wellington because port companies can’t agree on how to move to a hub and feeder port structure. But Transport Minister Steven Joyce says Govt doesn’t have a role in fomenting change because it isn’t investing in port infrastructure. He says “the port sector will evolve over time from a number of changes – change to the freight task, the size of ships – everybody accepts that. The question then is what role central Govt should play in forcing that. It has got to be led by people that are shipping the goods.”
Joyce adds “generally when people call for a particular type of port rationalisation they are often talking their own book – some parties are very active in that respect.” Ports of Auckland wants to “make sure it stays strong” as freight demand evolves while Wellington’s Centreport “is trying to sort out their role.” By contrast, “you don’t hear much from Tauranga or Napier.” Joyce says there are “some very commercial ports out there whose shareholders act commercially” but there is also parochialism. He has ordered the Ministry of Transport to update its assessment of how the freight task will have changed by 2030, and wants officials “staying on top of it.”
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