Laura Smyth (La Trobe, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Inevitably this ageing fleet has very significant consequences for efficiency, productivity and the environmental performance of Australian vessels compared with more modern fleets. The reforms in the bills before us include significant measures to promote investment in Australian shipping through tax concessions, the variety of which I mentioned earlier. Without these, we will continue to lag behind world standards. Without a sufficiently modern fleet, we cannot in turn attract new recruits. The shipping industry already faces pressures that arise from an ageing workforce and, without the capacity to attract new recruits, we are likely to see it become an even less viable proposition than it currently is. Without being able to assure new recruits of continued work in the shipping industry, the pressures of an ageing workforce will only increase.

It is timely that the bills are before us today. The bills address a variety of measures from taxation to training opportunities to changes in licensing arrangements. They promote a viable shipping industry that will contribute to the broader Australian economy, they will facilitate the long-term growth of the Australian shipping industry, they will enhance the efficiency and the reliability of the Australian shipping industry as a part of our national transport system and they will maximise the use of Australian vessels. In short, these reforms are well overdue. It would be derelict of this parliament to defer them to any future period, and I encourage the House to support their adoption.

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