Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

As we all know, inefficient ports end up being a tax on all of us. They end up costing Australians money. They can end up costing businesses jobs. That is not good for any of us, and that is why the Morrison-Joyce government has taken action to improve the productivity of our ports, not only through infrastructure projects but also through removing regulatory roadblocks for trade. We've introduced the simplified trade system, which has been streamlining compliance costs for Australian importers and exporters whilst upgrading our legacy ICT systems.

Whilst this is working, we know that productivity at our ports remains a challenge. This has been going on for a very long time, particularly impacting Australia's maritime supply chains. So, the Treasurer will release terms of reference for a Productivity Commission inquiry into the efficiency of our maritime logistics system. We need to ensure that productivity on our ports is the best as it can be. (Time expired)