Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I hear the member for Throsby crying out, but even he would agree about Warren Truss's absolute experience in this field.

The coalition members on the House committee for Infrastructure and Communications felt the same as the opposition spokesman. Significantly, industry participants harbour concerns about these bills. They need to be listened to and they have not been. They have not been given enough time. There are fears that the Australian shipping industry could deteriorate to such an extent that our maritime cluster—the associated industries which rely on coastal shipping—will reach the point of no return.

Tom Pinder, one of the principals of Australian Coastal Shipping Pty Ltd—a wholly independent company whose prime objective is to service the needs of those companies and individuals with a requirement to transport cargo in the most economic fashion both within Australia and externally—made some pertinent remarks about these bills to the House committee. He said that a continuation down the path of a one-size-fits-all policy would eventually result in all of the current east-west freight task being diverted to what he termed the 'inadequate infrastructure of road and rail' with 'hugely increased costs and a totally detrimental effect on the carbon footprint of the country'. I know that the member for Throsby would not want that. For a government which has pinned its flag to the mast of a carbon reduced economy, Mr Pinder's warning needs to be heeded.

One thing for sure is that industry submissions to both the House and Senate inquiries argue that the new licensing scheme will increase the regulatory burden on the shipping industry. More bureaucracy is not an incentive for any industry, particularly for one in decline. The prospect of cheap imports replacing Australian manufacturing and industry is deeply concerning. Federal Labor seems intent on increasing the costs to manufacturing and industry to such an extent that it is no longer economically viable for some industries to continue. In what sort of country are we living when it is cheaper to ship sugar from Thailand than around the Queensland coast?

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