Tasmania’s federal politicians lock horns over the perceived impact of the laws on the state’s freight rates
Coastal shipping regulations affecting Tasmania were the subject of an intense debate in Federal Parliament this week.
All five of the lower house members representing Tasmanian electorates spoke on a motion to “acknowledge detrimental results” of the existing 2012 regulations, particularly in Tasmania, and to urge reform.
Eric Hutchinson, who moved the motion, says Tasmania necessarily relied on coastal shipping, which is being made more expensive by the cabotage rules. “The changes by Labor have impacted nationally but, as an island state, nowhere has been harder hit than my state of Tasmania,” he says.
Julie Collins, representing the southern part of the state for the opposition, says there are many factors making freight so expensive in Tasmania and across Bass Strait.
“If you talk to industry and to the exporters who are trying to get produce off the island, it is much more complicated than [the government] would have you believe,” she says.
Andrew Nikolic, government member for Bass – which covers Northern Tasmania including Flinders Island – used a real-life example to illustrate the rise in freight costs since the 2012 reforms were implemented. He says the Launceston-based Bell Bay Aluminium had seen carriage rates increase by 63 per cent since 2012.
“[General manager of Bell Bay Aluminium] Ray Mostogl draws a clear link between Labor’s coastal shipping regulations, the impact on shipping costs and the direct viability of his company in Tasmania,” he says.
Member for the northwest Tasmanian electorate of Braddon Brett Whitely was in full agreement, noting that costs rose because of the excessive bureaucracy around ship movements.
“Shipping companies were loaded down with bureaucracy, red tape and the need for endless permits, coupled with union protectionism,” he says about the current regulations. “The shipping industry was effectively run into the ground, costing jobs and increasing costs to consumers and exporters.”
But the independent member for Denison [Hobart] Andrew Wilkie sided with the opposition, describing the motion as “a dud” that was a direct attack on shipping industry unions.
He says reforms to the 2012 regulations would not bring rates back down – rather, transporting freight across Bass Strait would always be higher than for other journies in and around Australia.
“What is needed – and it is quite simple – is an effective subsidy arrangement applying to all people, vehicles and freight in and out of Tasmania across Bass Strait.”