An industry organisation has been launched to tackle trade, importation and port issues
October
2, 2012
A new
industry organisation has been launched in a bid to tackle trade, importation and port issues.
Freight forwarding industry advocate Paul Zalai has
formed the Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) to give voice to importer interests and representative bodies.
Zalai says the body, which encourages alliances
with transport industry organisations on common issues, was formed in response to supply chain complexities facing customs brokers and freight forwarders.
According to Zalai, these supply chain complexities include increasing border security requirements, evolving global trade agreements, variations in international shipping practices and numerous domestic landside logistics issues requiring ongoing reform.
He says the new group’s focus will be on improved statutory compliance, processes and operational efficiency.
“These issues are intertwined requiring the need for a considered approach in representation to government and various sectors of commerce,” he says.
“In this contemporary environment, it is essential that advocacy is representative of a cross-section of Australia’s international trade sector.”
Zalai will look after the core advocacy role and will have expert support on insurance and finance issues, while the body’s website is presently being completed.
“Increasingly, so many of the issues flow on from one sector to the other and, increasingly, issues are intertwined,” Zalai says about the need to work with trucking bodies.
Zalai says he is preparing to get in contact with the Victorian Transport Association (VTA) and the Australian Trucking Association’s New South Wales branch (ATA NSW) amongst other such organisations to discuss points of shared interest.