|
Issue No. 170 | 14 March 2003 |
Coke or Pepsi?
Poetry: If I Were a Rich Man Interview: League of Nations Industrial: 20/20 Hindsight Organising: On The Buses Unions: National Focus History: The Banner Room International: The Slaughter Continues Legal: A Legal Case For War? Culture: Singing For The People Review: The Hours Poetry: I Wanna Bomb Saddam Satire: Diuretic Makes Warne's Excuses Look Thin
Travelex Wrong-un Stumps Staff No Utopia In Lifetime Contracts Howard’s Navy – Aussies Need Not Apply Intrepid Tourists Buck ILO Bans Whistle Blown on Second Hand Rail Safety Back-Packers Used to Break Hotel Strike Burrow Calls for New Family Formula Central Queensland Sucks on Roche
The Soapbox The Locker Room Guest Report Seduction Bosswatch
A Plea for Legal Action Accord Reconsidered Johnny's Green Card Veto The War Law and Order
Labor Council of NSW |
News Howard’s Navy – Aussies Need Not Apply
This startling revelation was made to the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade in Sydney this week. MUA secretary, Paddy Crumlin, told the committee Howard Government support for the continued demolition of Australian seafaring, through its green light for foreign crewed Flag of Convenience operations, stood in stark contrast to the line taken by key allies Britain and the US. Both those countries have identified a strong domestic merchant marine as a key element in their defence strategies. The union submission drew attention to that situation with official statements from Washington and London. "American commercial crew and US-flagged ships are necessary for the national security of our country. They provide the manpower and equipment necessary to transport vital supplies and personnel around the globe in times of national emergency," Representative Ike Skelton, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, explained. "The Jones Act," he went on, "helps to provide a basic manpower pool of US mariners that can be utilised in times of emergencies, and there is no substitute for that." Skelton was explaining a 1999 decision to commit US$10 billion to merchant marine shipbuilding and operating over the following 10 years. In one of its four main points the Blair Government's Defence White Paper, issued in 2002, said it was necessary to: "encourage UK ship registration, to increase shipowner identification with the UK, to improve our regulatory control of shipping using UK ports and workers and to maintain the avialability of assets and personnel that may be needed in time of war." Transport Minister John Anderson, on the other hand, is presiding over a declining Australian merchant fleet with a diminishing associated skill base. The MUA argues this is down to Anderson's ideological commitment to Single Voyage Permits which have seen an explosion in the number of foreign-crewed Flag of Convenience ships muscling in on Australia's coastal trade at the expense of vessels employing Australians. The union also tendered a personal letter of thanks from Interfet Commander, Peter Cosgrove, for the support MUA members provided to the Timor operation.
|
Search All Issues | Latest Issue | Previous Issues | Print Latest Issue |
© 1999-2002 Workers Online |
|