Victor Billot: Maritime Union Spokesperson on the Government's plans to fund a rescue tugboat for the Cook Strait

Ferry and cruise passengers could be facing a new levy. 

The Government is weighing up how to fund a permanent rescue tugboat for the Cook Strait, and a user pays system is on the table.  

They’ve contracted MMA Vision to provide emergency cover in the meantime, but a long-term solution is still up in the air. 

Maritime Union Spokesperson Victor Billot told Mike Hosking they’re happy to see the temporary measures, but there does need to be a long-term plan. 

However, he says they’re unsure a user pays model is the right fit, or that it would be easy to enforce.  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Very and cruise passengers might be facing a new levy.
So the government's weighing up how to fund a permanent
rescue tag for the Cook Straight. Temporary options arrived. It
will be in service until Dune next year. Apparently long
term solution needed obviously. The Maritime Union spokesperson Victor Billow's
with us victim Morning, Good morning. Is there anything unique
or different about the Cook Straight as regards having a
service per se.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
Well, obviously the Cook strait's a very rough piece of
water with a lot of inter island ferries going between it,
and there's been a number of issues there over the
last few years, so it is a special piece of water.
But nonetheless, this new plan, I think is for these
rescue tags to be used throughout New Zealand.

Speaker 1 (00:43):
What have we done previously and who's paid for them?

Speaker 2 (00:46):
Well, previously it's kind of been a little bit of
a mess, to be honest, because we've had in the past,
for example, we've had vessels get into trouble and then
sometimes you know, the money is able to be obtained
from the company that operate to them. But the problem
is a lot of the vessels on the New Zealand
coast overseas vessels, and it becomes a bit more complicated

(01:08):
once you get into the funding model for these things.

Speaker 1 (01:11):
Okay, this thing that's filling until June of next year,
could that carry on or is this a stop gap
measure that needs to be fixed properly.

Speaker 2 (01:18):
Well, it definitely needs to be fixed properly with a
long term plan. But we're happy to see that the
MMA vision, which is the vessel that's been temporary put
onto the into Wellington to be a rescue vessel, we're
pleased to see that, but I mean that does need
to be a long term plan, and we're not entirely
sure that the user pays model is either the right

(01:40):
one or an easy one to.

Speaker 1 (01:43):
Enforce, isn't it you just tagg it on? I mean,
I would imagine with the hundreds of thousands of people
crossing the straight on any given year, to be next
to nothing, You barely notice it, would you.

Speaker 2 (01:52):
I think they're pretty expensive to maintain a vessel, but
you need to have it. And the reality is is
that the inter Island line in blue Bridge, the private operator,
you know, it would be a major hit for them,
and we have to come and start saying, well, maybe
this is something that's actually a national, national infrastructure. I mean,

(02:13):
we don't treat roads in a similar way. We have
a much more a different way of getting them. So
we're just wondering how that's going to work out. And
of course there's also the question a lot of these
vessels that this rescue take my service may may be
overseas vessels, and that becomes how do you get the
money off them? It becomes another question?

Speaker 1 (02:32):
All right, good point. Well, Victor Billa, who's the Maritime
Union spokesperson. For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, Listen
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