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Former Christchurch radio personality Gary McCormick is leading a charge to block the Lyttelton tunnel to protest against DP World’s bid to take over Lyttelton Port.
He made the suggestion at a community meeting, protesting the take over, last week. He stood up and said, “This far and no further,” suggesting a blockade of the Lyttelton tunnel if the proposal was to progress.
McCormick lives in Lyttelton
More than 100 people attended the public meeting at The Loons to show there is no public mandate to privatise the town’s port.
The meeting was organised by New Zealanders for a Democratic Economy, advertised as “real information from real people.”
The meeting featured guest speakers McCormick, political activist John Minto, Rail and Maritime Transport Union Lyttelton secretary Mark Wilson, Maritime Union of New Zealand Lyttelton president Gerard Loader, Corporate Tax Accountability and Research (CICTAR) analysts Jason Ward and Ed Miller and Lyttelton environmental advocate Sara Campbell.
Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke, Te Ngai Tūāhuriri Rūnanga and Te Taumutu Rūnanga under the name Tōnui have made a bid, alongside Dubai-based logistics company DP World, to lease the port’s operations.
The port’s parent company, Christchurch City Holdings Ltd, received the unsolicited proposal from the consortium last month.
The resolution from McCormick was greeted rapturously by the people attending the meeting, said NZDE co-chair Harry Robson.
"It's a very passionate community that wants to defend the social fabric and unique character of the community,” he said.
The resolution declared the local community of Lyttelton - its residents, local businesses, local associations - will continually mobilise there to not allow any privatisation of the port. If CCHL takes this decision independently, or if the council votes to approve this deal with DP World, then there will be direct action. There is only one tunnel in and out of Lyttelton.
McCormick told Bay Harbour News he wanted to make it clear to DP World, if it wanted to take over the port’s operations, it was going to have a “major problem” on its hands.
A resolution was also passed to call on the city council to amend the draft CCHL Statement of Intent, to include the council’s letter of expectations. This is to ensure CCHL is bound by the council’s expectation the port is not to be leased.
City councillors voted yesterday to not amend the statement of intent as they were confident CCHL will take its letter of expectations into account.
Said Wilson: “That is okay for them but, it is not okay for us as a union, as a community that are facing the potential of a foreign entity to come in and control the port.”
Two other resolutions passed were to build a relationship with Ngāti Wheke and other Papatipu Rūnanga, reforming port governance to recognise mana whenua and the combined unions as strategic partners and keeping DP World out of New Zealand entirely.
CCHL CEO Matthew Slater said it has no comment on the resolutions passed or the proposal while it is going through the appropriate process.
He anticipated a decision to be made within the next week.
A public activation is planned outside the CCHL offices on Cambridge Tce next Friday from 8am, when the CCHL board will be deliberating the proposal.
Two community activations have also been organised in Lyttelton on Saturday and August 1.
A petition was launched last week against the takeover of Lyttelton Port, it can be found on https://nzde.org.nz/home.
The petition has already attracted more than 1000 signatures.