PORT of Auckland boss Roger Gray has let rip at what he called an “anti-cruise” agenda by the Ardern Government, but has praised the current coalition Government for its “customer focused positive attitude”. His spray came during a community meeting last week at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, where...
PORT of Auckland boss Roger Gray has let rip at what he called an “anti-cruise” agenda by the Ardern Government, but has praised the current coalition Government for its “customer focused positive attitude”.
His spray came during a community meeting last week at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, where The Post of New Zealand reported him as saying, “They call you the people of ‘No Zealand’, because you just say no to everything”.
Gray asserted that after speaking with a group of cruise lines in Miami, he had been told that the country’s attitude to cruise, community protests of ships visiting Milford Sound, complaints about dirty hulls not meeting strict biofouling standards, and steadily rising fees had made them think twice about doing business with the country.
The new Christophger Luxon-led Government, however, was fixing this, Gray enthused, revealing that his “bromance” with the PM was in-part due to the fact he was Gray’s old boss.
Gray was backed up in praising the current NZ Government by CLIA Managing Director for Australasia, Joel Katz.
Katz recently posted on LinkedIn, “Encouraging to see firm, positive engagement between the New Zealand Government, New Zealand ports, and the cruise industry.
“And much credit to Louise Upston and other key NZ Ministers for taking the time to sit down with industry stakeholders.”
Katz urged Australia to follow, saying “one side of the Tasman could not act in isolation” and suggested that cruise-attracting action from other regions meant a “steep fall-off” and economic impact for Australia. DF
