ALTHOUGH airfreight capacity continues to expand in line with the size of jet aircraft, official figures indicate that seaborne cargo accounts for about three-quarters of international trade, by value, in and out of Australia.
At the same time, domestic interstate shipping is an alternative to road and rail, yet for a variety of historical reasons, Australia has very little left in the way of its own domestic shipping industry.
The United States and Europe both have relatively strong laws upholding "cabotage" - the term given to the protection of domestic transport: in this case, shipping.
Australian law in the form of the Coastal Trading Act 2012 still purports to give some level of protection to domestic shipping.
The majority of Australias intrastate coastal shipping by volume is [already] transported in foreign registered ships using a foreign crew in a totally unregulated environment
Maritime Union of Australia submission September 2020
The Coalition tried, unsuccessfully, to amend the Act in 2015, and in 2016, controversy exploded when some of the few remaining Australian ships and crews - including a vessel servicing Tomago Aluminium - were replaced with foreign-crewed flag-of-convenience vessels, in moves attacked by Labor and the unions.
A second parliamentary effort, in 2017, also failed, but departmental officials have maintained the process - with a break to focus on coronavirus issues - and the reform agenda is back in play, as the Newcastle Heraldreported on Friday.
We carry an opinion piece today from the Rail, Tram and Bus Union, which opposes proposed changes for their potential impact on rail transport, most notably the inland rail's "corridor of commerce".
It is fair to say that all of the major stakeholders have problems with the existing legislation and its operation, but responses to the proposed changes fall into the usual divide of labour and capital.
Businesses want more freedom to use foreign shipping - with its lower wage structures - domestically, while Labor and the unions put a safety and national-interest value on maintaining a domestic shipping fleet.
There may always be unintended consequences to any regulatory change and the full outcomes of the proposal would only be evident after implementation. Hence, it is recommended that a pilot project and/or trial be considered . . .
Shipping Australia, endorsing proposed changes, but urging caution
At a time when Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter is using COVID-19 to argue for further deregulation of the general labour market, unions fear that shipping laws they describe as "WorkChoices on the water" could be the thin end of the wedge.
Longer term, we may want to consider whether choosing the lowest-cost option over the sovereign certainty of a national fleet is the right call for an island nation.
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