PM Transcripts

-JAUST AL1A I' r~ l'j
PRN] E AN ISTE
FOR MEDIA 29 August 1979
LETTER TO NEW SOUTH WALES PREMIER
KURNELL DISPUTE
The Prime Minister today sent the following letter to the
Premier of New South Wales, Mr Wran:
Mr dear Premier, I am writing to you again in respect of the critical
situation at the Kurnell refinery.
I am concerned that bans continue to be applied by
the operators despite undertakings given to the Conciliation
and Arbitration Commission in June that they would return to
normal work once the Federal award was suspended.
These bans severely limit the bringing into production
of the new facilities at Kurnell. This has adverse implications
for the supply of petroleum products to the New South Wales
market in general and the Sydney market in particular.
I appreciate that your Government through the Minister
for Industrial Relations, Mines an,, Energy, Mr Hills, has
taken a number of initiatives to have the bans lifted. However,
to date there has not been a successful resolution of the
situation. You -: il aree that it is in the interast of the
people of New South Wales and the Australian community
generally that all available action should be taken to resolve
the situation at Kurnell and to ensure the fullest possible
operations of the facilities.
Under the present arrangements, the operators are
covered by the provisions of the New South Wales State Energy
Authority Act. Accordingly, I ask how you see this matter
developing and how you intend to achieve a full and proper
lifting of the bans at Kurnell. Yours sincerely,
Malcolm Fraser."