Bill
Shipping Legislation Amendment Bill 2015
lapsed, as at 2015-11-26. Infrastructure and Regional Development portfolio.
- Sponsor
- Not recorded
- Portfolio
- Infrastructure and Regional Development
Recorded stages
- introduced — 2015-06-25
- second reading — 2015-06-25
- second reading — 2015-10-12
- second reading — 2015-10-13
- second reading — 2015-10-14
- second reading — 2015-10-14
- committee — 2015-10-14
- third reading — 2015-10-14
- introduced — 2015-10-15
- second reading — 2015-10-15
- second reading — 2015-11-25
- second reading — 2015-11-26
- second reading — 2015-11-26
Divisions
- Warren Truss I thank members who have contributed to this debate. It has been a fulsome debate. I would have to say that I think it has been a partisan debate, but it is reasonable that people will want to make their contributions to what is really an important area of reform. I would just like to make a few observations about the legislation and some of the comments that have been made. The government has made it clear that it is committed to safe, secure and efficient transport systems, and this is unambiguously the case for coastal shipping. The current system has clearly failed. Just look at the facts. Under Labor the fleet of major Australian registered ships over 2,000 deadweight tonnes with coastal licences plummeted from 30 vessels, in 2006-07, to just 15, in 2013-14. The number of ships on the Transitional General Licence Register has dropped from 16 to just eight. Between 2000 and 2012, shipping's share of Australia's freight fell from 27 per cent to just under 17 per cent, while the volume of freight across Australia grew by 57 per cent. Over the first two years of Labor's coastal trading act, there was a 63 per cent decline in the carrying capacity of the major Australian coastal trading fleet. Looking forward, at this rate Australia's overall freight task is expected to grow by 80 per cent, come 2030, but coastal shipping will increase by only 15 per cent. This is not to mention the increase in freight rates reported by some shipping users, or the many instances where the current system has proved inflexible, cumbersome and, frankly, impractical. For instance, Gypsum Resources Australia outlined in their submission to the Senate committee how they are losing business to Thailand under the current system. They said: In February 2014 GRA applied for, and was subsequently denied, a temporary licence (TL) to enable it to compete for gypsum sales in Brisbane. The dominant factor in the denial was an objection by a GL holder to the granting of a TL to GRA. Th — 2015-10-14, House of Representatives: negative, ayes 51, noes 78
- No motion text available — 2015-10-14, House of Representatives: affirmative, ayes 78, noes 51
- Ricky Muir One of the great things about this job is that I get to learn of things that I had no idea about prior to taking my seat. Today's topic is Australian coastal shipping. It has been an interesting voyage, and I have navigated my way through some strong arguments. I have been involved in a lot of consultation on the government's Shipping Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 since it was introduced, and I would like to thank all those who have made contact with my office. The purpose of the Shipping Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 is to increase access to Australian coastal shipping for foreign crewed ships in an attempt to make coastal shipping cheaper. The bill was referred to the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee, and some of the submissions were quite concerning. In its submission to the Senate committee, The Australia Institute stated: Foreign flagged and crewed ships already have considerable access to the Australian coastal shipping market, making Australian coastal shipping possibly the only service sector facing competition that can use foreign labour while actually operating in Australia. The Australia Institute's submission also notes that the cost-benefit analysis estimates only 88 Australian seafarer jobs will remain under the department's preferred option for policy change. This represents a loss of 1,089 Australian seafarer jobs, or 93 per cent of the current workforce. The MUA stated in its submission that the passage of the Shipping Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 will 'destroy the Australian shipping industry' and, according to its own modelling, will have an impact of removing over 2,000 jobs. Maritime Industry Australia Limited stated in its submission that the passage of this bill 'will lead to the complete demise of the Australian flagged trading ship fleet.' I do want to provide a bit of perspective however. Approximately 96 per cent of Australian shipping is for exporting Australian products overseas. This is no — 2015-11-26, Senate: negative, ayes 27, noes 31
Plain-language summary
Written by a model from the explanatory memorandum; not the record, as at 2015-06-25.
This bill would replace the current three-tier coastal shipping licence with a single permit that lasts 12 months and is available to both Australian and foreign vessels.
It would create minimum employment conditions for seafarers on foreign ships that carry coastal cargo for more than 183 days and require those ships to have two senior crew who are Australian citizens, residents or visa holders.
Vessels on the Australian International Shipping Register would no longer need to have a collective agreement before registration, and the requirement for them to mainly trade internationally would drop to 90 days a year.
- Replaces the three-tier licensing system under the Coastal Trading (Revitalising Australian Shipping) Act 2012 with a single Coastal Shipping Permit.
- Renames the Coastal Trading (Revitalising Australian Shipping) Act 2012 to the Coastal Shipping Act 2015.
- Applies the Seagoing Industry Award to seafarers on foreign vessels with a coastal permit when the Fair Work Act 2009 covers them, and to Australian International Shipping Register vessels not trading internationally.
- Creates an enforcement mechanism for seafarers to recover unpaid amounts if a foreign vessel trades for more than 183 days contrary to its permit.
- Requires foreign vessels trading in coastal shipping for over 183 days to have two senior crew eligible to work in Australia as citizens, residents or visa holders.
- Allows registration on the Australian International Shipping Register if a vessel engages in international shipping for 90 days or more a year, and removes the requirement for a collective agreement before registration.
Owners and operators of Australian and foreign vessels engaged in coastal shipping, seafarers on those vessels, and the Australian government.
Sources
em
billhome