Further to yesterday's member notice, Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) and the Australian Peak Shippers Association (APSA) representatives participated in a formal briefing today (2 April 2020) hosted by Austrade including addresses from Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham (Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment), the Hon David Littleproud MP (Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management) and Senator the Hon Jonathon Duniam (Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries, Assistant Minister for Regional Tourism).
NOTE:
Commentary from Coordinator General
Michael Byrne (International Freight Coordinator General) noted that the "mechanism is not looking to be perfect, it needs to be delivered at pace".
Michael made additional comments in addition to detail included in the above reference document including:
- RFP will be open later today (2 April 2020) and will close next Wednesday (9 April 2020)
- Successful applications will be determined by Friday 11 April 2020.
- Locations will be considered beyond those listed in the reference document
- The intention is not to fund the whole cost of a logistics solution – it is to bridge the gap between historical pricing and what can be achieved in the current environment that has seen the "evaporation of passenger flights"
- Support in engaging with Health Departments will be provided to facilitate release of import medical supplies
Industry presentations
The following peak industry bodies elaborated on the specific needs of their members to maintain export market access:
Fiona Simson, National Farmers Federation
Michael Rogers, Australia Fresh Produce Alliance
David Nation, Dairy Australia TBC
Jane Lovell, Seafood Industry Australia
*Patrick Hutchinson – Australian Meat Industry Council
* Patrick Hutchinson is a Committee of Management representative on the Australian Peak Shippers Association (APSA)
Enquiries
The Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment is setting up an information line and a process to capture from exporters information on the identified products.
In the interim, FTA / APSA members will no doubt have many questions about this process.
Please channel enquiries direct to Sal Milici at smilici@FTAlliance.com.au / 0426 057 373 who will be liaising with the Government agencies and will be providing regular member updates.
Additional notices:
Media Release - Air freight
Birmingham Release - Funding boost to support Australian exporters and tourism businesses
20200401 - Joint Letter - Seafood Industry |
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