Nelson MP Nick Smith wants to know how much it is costing police to safeguard workers at Nelson and other South Island ports during the log-ship dispute.
He said he understood the cost in Nelson was in the "tens of thousands of dollars."
Dr Smith had asked Police Minister George Hawkins to outline the costs in Parliament, and explain whether they were being met by national or regional police budgets.
Mr Hawkins is expected to reply by the end of the week.
Watersiders and supporters held a low-key picket at Port Nelson yesterday as the bitter three-month dispute over who loads log ships continued.
Around 50 people took part in the relatively quiet picket about 7 am, when the loading of the Carter Holt Harvey-chartered ship the Crimson Forest began.
The Waterfront Workers' Union said it expected numbers to swell today.
It said it was gearing up for tonight's rally at the port and hoped for a strong show of public support.
The pickets were sparked by Carter Holt's use of Tauranga-based Mainland Stevedoring to load log ships in the South Island instead of firms it has traditionally used.
It started using Mainland Stevedoring in Nelson two months ago. Before that it had used Stevedoring Services (Nelson), a subsidiary of United States-owned Southern Cross Stevedores.
The union, which represents Stevedoring Services workers, said the move would put its members out of work.
Because Mainland used mostly casual labour, it would set a precedent other stevedoring firms would have to follow, said the union.
Mainland has argued that all stevedoring firms use some casual labour, and it has hired permanent and casual workers from Nelson.
Previous pickets in Nelson resulted in scuffles between police and picketers, and arrests.
But yesterday picketers complied with directives set down by police, which included standing in specific areas and not trying to impede the truck carrying Mainland workers through the picket line.
Police cut back on their escort for the Mainland truck, standing down about 12 officers. This left about 30 to escort the truck and stand by the picket line.
Formal mediation between Carter Holt, Mainland Stevedoring and the union is expected to begin this week.
- NZPA
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