House debates

Tuesday, 14 August 2018

Bills

Coastal Trading (Revitalising Australian Shipping) Amendment Bill 2017; Second Reading

6:26 pm

Photo of Rowan RamseyRowan Ramsey (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

And they like to spend money—thank you for that help. At this stage, it's difficult for them to come to Australia, because they'd have to get single-voyage permits, so they go to New Zealand and they go to Fiji. So, New Zealanders and Fijians are benefiting from Australia's coastal shipping act. It seems absurd, really, doesn't it? I don't know how it's protecting jobs here. I don't even think it's protecting our superyacht owners. Perhaps it's protecting their wharf space from Europeans and Americans coming into their little bit of port. I don't know. I mean, it is clearly absurd. Of course I'm making fun of the situation as it sits at the moment, but this bill seeks to get past that, to open up trade—as we should. We should always be opening up Australia to trade, on every front. We should always be breaking down the barriers that impose costs on our local businesses.

All in all, this bill is not as ambitious as the one that was put forward by the former Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Truss, but it is a reflection of what's happened to the shipping industry, which, despite the efforts of the member of Grayndler, continues to dwindle. More than 50 per cent of the capacity has gone since Mr Truss introduced that bill—63 per cent in 2012. Half the vessels have gone. The age of the vessels is double the world average. The writing is clearly on the wall. We are protecting an inefficient and outdated industry here, and Australia needs to sharpen up, get on with its act and reflect the realities of the day. This bill goes a little way—a little way—to addressing some of the issues that Australian industries face. I recommend it.

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