The Shipping Corporation of New Zealand was a New Zealand shipping company created by the
Third Labour Government led by
Norman Kirk in 1973.
Background
Norman Kirk advocated for the creation of a New Zealand-owned shipping line as leader of the Opposition, which was Labour's policy at the 1969 and 1972 elections. Kirk argued that "the New Zealand farmer has always been at the mercy of the overseas shipping companies." Upon election to office following the
1972 general election, Kirk moved quickly to establish the shipping line, appointing former Meat Board chairman John Ormond as chairman and
Federation of Labour President
Tom Skinner
Sir Thomas Edward Skinner (18 April 1909 – 11 November 1991) was a New Zealand politician and Trades Union leader.
Sir Tom served as President of the Auckland Trades Council from 1954 to 1976, and President of the New Zealand Federation of ...
as his deputy. The
Shaw Savill Line
Shaw Savill Line of London was a shipping company set up to transport both produce and passengers between Great Britain and New Zealand.Prospectus ''The Times'' 11 November 1882
Robert Edward Shaw and Walter Savill (employees of Willis, Gann and ...
offered two vessels, the ''Laurentic'' and the ''
MV Zealandic'', for the shipping line.
Formation
The Shipping Corporation of New Zealand Act 1973 established the corporation as a
statutory corporation
A statutory corporation is a government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, thus, they are statutes owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in ...
, which began trading in 1974. The New Zealand Government owned a majority of shares, while the Shaw Savill Line had a 30% stake in the shipping line.
The Shipping Corporation adopted a new trading name on 1 September 1985, New Zealand Line, to emphasis its international links.
State-owned enterprise
From 1 April 1987 the Shipping Corporation became the Shipping Corporation of New Zealand Limited, along with other government-owned departments and corporations, became a
State-owned enterprise
A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a Government, government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn Profit (econom ...
, and was required to make a profit.
Privatisation
In the
1987 budget, it was announced that the New Zealand Line would be sold.
The New Zealand Line was privatised in March 1989, being sold to
Associated Container Transportation (ACT), trading as
P&O for $33.5 million.
References and citations
Citations
References
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External links
Australasian Legal Information Institute - Shipping Corporation of New ZealandNew Zealand Merchant Service Guild - History
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Defunct transport companies of New Zealand
Government-owned companies of New Zealand
Shipping companies of New Zealand
New Zealand companies established in 1974
Transport companies established in 1974