Fra New Zealand.
Trond Andresen
****************************
02-Jan-00 07:44 pm
Christchurch, Jan 2 - A Lyttelton woman who died from injuries
she received on a picket line will be seen as a martyr for the trade
union cause, a union leader says.
Christine Clarke, 45, died on New Year's Eve from serious brain
injuries she received when allegedly run over by a four-wheel-drive
vehicle while on a picket line at the Port of Lyttelton last
Wednesday.
The picket was protesting the Lyttelton Port Company's decision,
now stayed while further negotiations take place, to contract out
its coal loading work.
Waterfront Workers Union president Les Wells said today Ms Clarke
would be viewed as a martyr and rallying point for the whole trade
union movement in New Zealand.
``Nobody comes along to a picket thinking they might be killed.
The worst you can expect is a rap across the knuckles with a baton
and arrest. But the risk is always there when you get in front of a
vehicle,'' he said.
He expected a big trade union presence at her funeral at the
Catholic Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament on Wednesday.
The unions involved in the dispute over the coal loading issue
would keep Mrs Clarke's death separate from any negotiations but
port workers were angry. He believed it was the first death on a
picket line since 1912.
Lyttelton parish priest Father Jim Consedine, a long-time friend
of the Clarke family, said Ms Clarke would have found her sudden
public status ironic.
``She was very self-effacing and humble and would have seen the
irony in becoming a public figure in death,'' he said.
He remembered her as a warm, open parishioner with a wonderful
sense of humour.
``From an early age she showed a strong sense of justice and
compassion for the underdog. She had a strong faith which sustained
her through a difficult illness,'' he said.
About two years ago she had a brain aneurism which was followed
by a stroke but she had fully recovered, Father Consedine said.
She has two children, aged 16 and 10, and had worked for Catholic
Social Services, Marriage Guidance, and was electorate secretary for
Green Party co-leader Rod Donald.
Her family was appalled at the senselessness of her death but not
angry with the driver who would have to ``live with whatever
happened'', he said.
``There is a strong anger in the Lyttelton community at the Port
Company for ignoring local issues rather than because of the
incident.
``However the reason Chris was there remains unresolved. In this
day and age these issues should not arise,'' he said.
The driver of the vehicle had been charged with dangerous driving
causing injury and would appear in the Christchurch District Court
on Wednesday. Police have said it was likely the charges would be
changed at that time, possibly to dangerous driving causing death.
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