It was acknowledged that Australia has world class manufacturers and producers who are supported by skilled customs brokers and freight forwarders and are ready to take advantage of the opportunities created by trade liberalisation measures and those economies recovering from COVID-19.
In this context, a broad range of domestic and international freight matters were discussed - a summary of main outcomes are listed below:
FLOODS AND RELATED LOGISTICS As outlined in this morning's member notice Operational impacts from catastrophic weather events, general discussion centred on logistics during this period of severe weather events across Australia.
Following feedback from Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) and Australian Peak Shippers Association (APSA) members, I recommended that coastal shipping be made available as a short-term relief measure, as per the current arrangements to Western Australia, to assist with the recovery by allowing sea freight movement of domestic cargo to Queensland.
Clearly, this would be contingent on the resumption of port operations (the latest Port of Brisbane update is available HERE).
NOTE: On 31 January 2022, the federal government exempted voyages to Western Australia by containerships and ro-ro vessels from the Coastal Trading (Revitalising Australian Shipping) Act 2012 – effectively allowing unrestricted coastal shipping to Western Australian ports. The exemption came into effect on 1 February and remains in force until 31 March. In an explanatory memorandum on the Section 11 exemption from the act, the government said the exemption is "designed to address the extraordinary circumstances due to the rail line to Western Australia being affected by flooding".
TERMINAL ACCESS CHARGES
The Deputy Prime Minister had a particular interest in FTA/APSA's views on stevedore charges.
I made a commitment to provide further background to this matter and in the interim, made specific reference to the recent FTA/APSA submission to the Productivity Commission as outlined below:
RECOMMENDATION 4 (regulation of Terminal Access Charges) – the scope of the National Transport Commission (NTC) review of Terminal Access Charges be expanded to examine the potential of regulation to force stevedores (and empty container parks) to cost recover directly against their commercial client (shipping line) rather than via third party transport operators.SHIPPING COMPETITION
Reference was again made to the recent FTA/APSA submission to the Productivity Commission as outlined below:
RECOMMENDATION 1 (shipping competition review) – repeal of Part X of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, with retention of shipper collective bargaining provisions, leaving two options:
(1) foreign owned shipping lines to operate in line with competition laws faced by other businesses involved in Australian commerce; or
(2) if deemed necessary for foreign owned shipping lines to have ongoing protections, expand the role of the ACCC (or introduce a federal maritime regulator) to administer processes to safeguard exporter and importer's interests, in particular, monitoring the appropriateness of shipping line (and contracted stevedore / empty container park) surcharges, fees and penalties.
Extensive discussion followed, centred around a briefing paper issued by the US White House in which President Joe Biden expresses his Administration's plans to put the actions of container shipping lines under greater scrutiny by better coordination between the Department of Justice and the Federal Maritime Commission. The briefing also cites the concentration of market power in the shipping alliances as a threat to US national interests. The issue is expected to feature in the President's State of the Union address later today (local time).
I expressed the view that the briefing paper could equally apply in an Australian context, specifically references to the administration of unfair container detention practices and concerns about potential anti-competitive practices by foreign owned shipping lines.
The meeting concluded with a commitment from the Deputy Prime Minister for ongoing engagement with FTA /APSA in terms of key elements of our broader advocacy for shipping and logistics reform.
Paul Zalai - Director FTA | Secretariat APSA | Director GSF |