Rod Sims proposed shipping as one of five key areas for his reform package, on the basis that with 99% of Australian imports and exports moving by sea, reforms in international and domestic shipping, as well as ports, would have a marked general economic effect.
Mr Sims suggested removing automatic immunity from cartel arrangements for international shipping lines and addressing legislative restrictions on competition in the domestic shipping sector, which result in higher freight costs for Australian businesses. Key infrastructure assets, including ports, could look at congestion pricing.
Ports Australia chief executive David Anderson commented in reply that such pricing is “a conversation worth having”, although he noted that it would not work for tidal ports, where the emphasis was to get the ships in and out as quickly as possible and as fast as the tide allows.