Fremantle sell-off still up in the air

Relations between the ruling Liberal Prime Minister of Western Australia, Colin Barnett, and the minority National Party soured recently and the opposition withdrew support for privatisation plans spearheaded by the Premier.

At the heart of the disagreement is the National Party’s view that there is no clear and agreed pathway towards privatisation, and that it would be best to wait until after the March 2017 state elections to finalise a process for the sale of such a strategic asset.

The Freight and Logistics Council of Western Australia said the difficulties at a political level are “unfortunate, mainly because they add to the uncertainty that surrounds a number of key decisions impacting Fremantle Port”.

The freight council has not taken a strong view either way regarding port privatisation but is adamant port efficiency and port costs are made a priority in any privatisation process. The political impasse over Fremantle follows similar political jostling in Victoria, which delayed the legislation clearing the way for the Port of Melbourne lease.

The potential Fremantle privatisation has been tipped to bring in about A$2bn (US$1.51bn).