Carr Government's Sydney Harbour plan condemned

The announcement by NSW Premier Carr at the recent State Labor 
Party conference that the shipping facilities in Sydney harbour 
are to be removed has been roundly condemned by the Maritime 
industry.

For two hundred years, Sydney has been Australia's principal 
port, providing one of the best harbours in the world and ideally 
located on Australia's east coast to serve Australia's largest 
industrialised state.

The decision appears to have been made by the Government's gang 
of three — Premier Carr, Treasurer Egan and Transport Minister 
Costa. It was announced at the ALP conference with no prior 
consultation with the Maritime Union although it appears that the 
Stevedoring companies that operate in Sydney had been informed.

The decision takes no regard for the thousands of workers who 
have given their lives to Sydney's shipping industry — waterside 
workers, transport drivers, storemen, port shore workers, tug-
men, ship repair workers, ship's pilots and others.

A statement issued by the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) says, 
"The unions were never consulted, Cabinet wasn't consulted. It's 
madness. Sydney Ports have just invested $6 million in taxpayers' 
money upgrading Glebe Island terminal. Now it's all being wasted. 
It's a complete back-flip on the government's long-standing 2020 
policy to keep the heart of the harbour alive at least two 
decades into the 21st century".

Hitting the nail on the head, the statement says, "It's a sell 
out to the developers and the big end of town and we're demanding 
a full public investigation. Why was every-one kept in the dark? 
Why so sudden? Is this really in the public interest? We don't 
think so".

The Maritime Bulletin published by the Maritime Branch of 
the Communist Party says, "The NSW Labor Government has dealt a 
savage blow to the future of hundreds of Sydney maritime workers. 
In typical fashion the business community were fully consulted 
but the MUA was left out in the cold.

"This most reactionary ALP government has a disgraceful record of 
pandering to the developers and the rich. Attacking workers is 
another area in which they have much experience. A quick look 
into the current workers' compensation legislation will 
demonstrate that".

The Maritime Bulletin  questions the affiliation of the 
MUA to the ALP. It asks, "How many times can unions be kicked 
before there is a realisation that the ALP when in government 
represents the interest of the ruling class? Unions belong to the 
members and it is our view that they should affiliate to no 
political party".

A media release from Lee Rhiannon (Greens MLC) says "NSW has 
never had a State Government closer to big developers.

"A Green's research project looking into political donations for 
the last State election has uncovered enormous contributions by 
big developers to the NSW ALP's campaign funds.

"Big developers have been eyeing off Sydney's commercial 
waterfront land for a long time and Mr Carr has effectively 
handed it to them on a silver platter. If the value of inner city 
land sold to big developers to date is anything to go by, Lend 
Lease, Meriton and Multiplex can expect some real bargains.

"It is now pay-back time for all those developers who contributed 
so significantly to the NSW ALP's campaign coffers".

The Greens pledged their support for any action taken by the MUA 
against the closures.

MUA members at the White Bay terminal (slated for closure) 
unanimously voted to refuse to budge until the company (P&O) 
guarantees ongoing job security and conditions. P&O had 
announced, immediately following Carr's announcement, that it 
would close its White Bay terminal and move its operations to 
Darling Harbour facilities. Their rapid action indicated that 
they were well informed and prepared for Carr's announcement.

The White Bay waterside workers decided that they would stage a 
sit-in when the time comes to move out, bunkering down and 
refusing to move for as long as it takes for their demands to be 
met. Major concerns are out-sourcing, redundancies, pay and 
conditions".

The CPA's Maritime Bulletin says "There will be a great 
need to hold vigorous protests against the government's plan. 
This is not a plan about public housing but housing development 
for the rich. It is about the destruction of Sydney Harbour as a 
working port. It is about throwing maritime workers onto the 
scrapheap and it is a plan that opens the door for maritime 
employers to launch massive attacks against the MUA".