Muldoon argues the case

case for the Pacific Forum Line . . .

New Zealand Prime Minister Robert Muldoon took the op portunity of his recent visit to Japan to suggest that the Japanese might help the financially crippled Pacific Fo rum Line. He had in mind a ship that could provide a feeder service between some of the smaller islands and the ports visited by bigger Forum Line vessels.

The West Germans, Mul doon told Japanese PM Zenko Suzuki, had chipped in with a couple of ships for the Forum Line his way of giving the Japanese a nudge and a wink.

The Forum Line was very much on Muldoon’s mind when he went to Japan.

The line’s creditors are press ing it to recover debts, and New Zealand pumped in an extra NZsl million in March to help pay some of the current debts.

But about $9 million is needed to refloat the foundering line which both New Zealand and Australia believe will begin to break even in about 18 months.

In New Delhi last October the Forum members decided by consensus to support the line financially. New Zealand pledged $4.5 million and Aus tralia, which is not a share holder, promised the other half.

The catch was that Australia said the money would have to come from the bilateral aid it gave to the Island states. It declined to make any further contribution direct. While the Island states agreed to give part of their Australian aid to the line, their resolve faltered when Fiji said it did not propose to go ahead with the consensus.

Muldoon said that Fiji had explained that its position was that the Forum Line carried Australian and New Zealand goods, and was really for the benefit of those countries. It argued that the Forum Line would be in no difficulty if it carried Fiji sugar to New Zea land. But union issues made

that impossible, Muldoon said.

The whole concept of the Forum Line became possible only when the New Zealand unions said they were prepared to have cross-trading ships manned by Island crews call at New Zealand, provided one of the ships in the Forum Line was manned by New Zealanders.

This so-called Waitangi Agreement provided the break through that made the regional shipping scheme feasible, but it would end if the Forum Line collapsed. That would mean that ships manned by Island crews would only be worked in New Zealand ports if they traded directly from the country of origin, rather than cross-trading to other Island states. ‘The effect of that on South Pacific shipping would be cata strophic,’ said Muldoon.

But, under the Waitangi Agreement, the New Zealand Seamen’s Union refused to per mit the Forum Line to carry Fiji sugar because this was carried in ships crewed by New Zealanders. They would not agree to it being carried in ships crewed by low-wage Pacific Islanders.

Fiji also said it was neither appropriate nor fair that its people be told to accept cutbacks in their Australian aid funds in order to finance the Forum Line’s operations. ‘The fact of the matter is that the decision was made by con sensus at the Forum in New Delhi and (the Fiji Prime Min ister) Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara was part of that consensus,’ said Muldoon.

Muldoon added that he was pleased, however, that a dia logue was developing with the Fiji Government. He said: T am sure that if the thing is ex plained clearly and carefully then they will agree that we did have a consensus in New Delhi and it is reasonable that it should be implemented.’ The whole issue is to come up for

review at the regular meeting of the Forum Shipping Council in June.

Meanwhile, one by one the member states have signalled their intention to contribute funds to the line. The Cook Islands offered $25 000 and the Solomon Islands SIOO 000, while Tonga and Western Samoa moved to have their share of Australian aid released and paid over to the Forum Line. This totalled about

Ssoo 000.

Muldoon sees the line as ‘the most important practical demonstration of the value of the Forum and its collapse really would be very, very serious.’

New Zealand in fact places great weight on the importance of shipping for the development of the economics of the South Pacific islands.

Last financial year it spent $14.5 million with only $1.5 million coming out of its aid programme to the Pacific Islands on various shipping services. Some $6 million went into the Cook Islands-Niue ser vice, and another $1 million to the Tokelau-Tuvalu service.

New Zealand’s attitude is that while it could follow the arguments of other people such as the Australians and let commercial shipping com panies develop services, that would simply mean the smaller islands would be by-passed.

That suggests a difference in shipping philosophy between Australia and New Zealand.

The New Zealanders have ham mered their colours to the Pacific Forum Line mast. They have found it painful to do so but insist on the merit of their actions.

The fact that, in its formative stages, the Forum Line used unsuitable ships and had man agement problems simply com pounded New Zealand’s suffer ings.

Possibly because of New Zealand’s commitment to ship ping, other South Pacific countries believe that its Gov ernment will rescue the Forum Line even if they fail to provide funds.

Reasoning of that type badly misjudges Muldoon’s determi nation to see that the South Pacific pulls together as a region.

The present movement is towards regionalism towards Fiji’s idea of anew regional organisation which could amal gamate the existing plethora of South Pacific organisations and eliminate duplication of effort and waste of limited resources.

Muldoon has already sig nalled his belief that this is a good idea. But New Zealand accepts that the impetus for this movement must come from the Pacific Island states them

selves.

William Gas son in

Wellington.