Trans-Tasman

Traffic Snarl.

How Socialists Have Dealt With South Pacific Travel in 1948

AFTER a ten months’ tour of Fiji Norfolk Island and New Zealand. Mr. and Mrs. G. Allen Innes returned to Sydney in early June.

Although they enjoyed their tour im mensely, Mrs Innes says that she now feels that they are competent authorities on the whole tourist problem—especially as it affects hotel accommodation As a sidelight on the difficulties that are encountered by all those who travel abroad to-day, it is interesting to note the round-about fashion in which the Inneses accomplished the formerly simple business of getting from one side of the Tasman to the other.

Although they made arrangements for this last leg of their journey last January, they were held up in New Zealand for weeks and finally made Sydney by flying from Auckland to Suva by New Zealand tvtac plane, there catching the Qantas Catalina, which on this occasion made a special detour to Vila (New Hebrides) on its way to Sydney via Noumea. This took three solid days of flying and cost £BO each, instead of eight hours’ flying (across the Tasman) at a cost of £2B per person.

Editorial Note

IT is stated that there are between three and four thousand Australians stranded in New Zealand waiting for trans-Tasman transport. The Union Company’s “Wahine,” which had been diverted from the Cook Strait run to the Tasman, was withdrawn some time ago and will not be brought back until about September. In the meantime there is no regular ship on the Tasman run—and will not be until “Wanganella” returns to the run, about October.

Several months ago. Tasman Empire Airways Sunderland flying-boats, which had been in service for about 18 months, were suddenly grounded for some real or fancied engine defect, and this threw Tasman qjr transport into confusion for some time. At present. Skymasters are making a trip a day each way and there fore this situation can be classed as normal, although from the point of view of whittling down the large waiting list of intending travellers from New Zealand, it cannot be called adequate.

The whole position of travel between Australia and New Zealand —a distance of about 1,200 miles—is absurd.

Almost three years after the war has ended there is not one ship on the regular run. And the air service, increased as it is on pre-war standards, is obviously quite incapable of dealing with it.

Before the war, scarcely a day passed when some ship did not leave or arrive in Sydney from New Zealand —Union Steamship Company, Huddart Parker, Oceanic Steamship Company, Cana dian Pacific, Shaw Saville— it was possible to get a Tas man passage from any of these steamship lines.

To-day there is nothing.

Tasman Empire Airways are coping with the chaotic position as well as they are able. The point is, however, why stop at TEA? This company is a Govern ment monopoly—that is “owned by the people’’—but should this be permitted when it is obvious that they cannot cope with the mass of people clamouring for passages across the Pacific?

Australian National Airways Pty., Ltd., the managing director of which over two years ago offered to start another trans-Tasman service at half the fare then charged by TEA, is to-day seeking affiliation with a Hongkong airline be cause it is not allowed by Socialist Gov ernment to employ its huge Australian organisation and equipment adequately in Australia.

Trans-Oceanic Airways, with several giant flying boats are anxious to accept charter flights anywhere in the world but are prevented from using their valuable equipment to best advantage by petty regulations and binding restrictions im posed by the Socialist governments of Britain, Australia and New Zealand.

Pan-American Airways and BOAC are forced into running a blind-alley service from North America to Auckland but are not permitted to do the obvious thing and fly the last link in the trans-Pacific-Aus tralasia route —that is, Auckland to Syd ney. nnHE trans-Tasman travel snarl has X worsened, if anything, in the past year, although to the commonsense realist the solution is simple enough.

Officially, however, the Governments concerned can do nothing about it.

Bureaucrats sit on their padded chairs, throw up their hands and exclaim that it Is unfortunate, but really outside their control —there are no ships, and the Gov ernment airlines are doing all they can.

In the meantime, the would-be traveller can stew in his own juice. Why does he want to travel, anyhow? He should stay home and pay his taxes and say nothing.

Travelling these days, is the sole prerog ative of perambulating politicians and overfed bureaucrats who are armed with the requisite “priorities” and an inex haustible amount of taxpayers’ money.