Daily Cargo News (DCN) reports that public consultation on the National Voluntary Guidelines for Landside Stevedoring Charges has been welcomed, though significant concerns remain around the guidelines' voluntary nature and their limited capacity to curb escalating landside fees.
Following commitments by transport and infrastructure ministers in August, the National Transport Commission (NTC) has opened consultation and formed a working group to consider options in light of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's findings on stevedore charges and market behaviour.
Container Transport Alliance Australia (CTAA) director Neil Chambers emphasised the need for treasury officials from both state and federal levels to be involved, noting:
"If the ACCC was told to develop a mandatory code of conduct for container stevedore charges — quayside and landside — then that instruction would need to come from the federal treasurer or deputy treasurer, who are the responsible ministers."
He further highlighted that the ACCC "could not have been clearer" in identifying market failure within current charging regimes.
FTA / APSA position
FTA Director and secretariat of APSA, Mr Paul Zalai, noted that Victoria's voluntary protocol has imposed some procedural discipline but has not slowed the rate of price increases, warning that a national voluntary approach risks being symbolic rather than effective without regulatory backing.
"The proposed voluntary nature of the Guidelines remains a fundamental limitation".
"FTA and APSA will continue to strongly advocate for a mandatory regulatory framework that provides effective oversight and delivers genuine protection for industry participants against excessive and unregulated landside charges,"
"While the voluntary protocol introduced in Victoria has imposed some procedural disciplines, it has done nothing to slow the rate of price increases."
"We see no reason to believe that expanding this framework nationally, without regulatory backing, will deliver a different outcome." — Paul Zalai.
More information
Read the original coverage and consultation details via DCN.
