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          Shipping Stevedoring Port Services Hydrocarbons Diving  Sep-Oct 2008 
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Ferguson slams govt over security bill09 October 2003
Martin Ferguson MP, Shadow Minister for Transport and Infrastructure His press release is as follows: Labor has given only conditional support to the crucial Maritime Transport Security Bill and will refer it to a Senate Committee to ensure that it gets the scrutiny it deserves and gets the best outcomes for the safety of the Australian community and for the maritime industry. The Bill will introduce a far-reaching national maritime security framework that will ensure Australia complies with international security standards by July next year. It is a large and complex Bill that has so far been subject to only the barest level of consultation with the maritime industry. Important detail that underpins the Bill will be in the regulations, which are still not available for parliamentary or industry consideration. While countries like the Unites States are contributing over $1 billion to increasing maritime security, the Australian Government says the maritime industry should wear the full cost, resulting in a significant competitive disadvantage for Australian operators. The Maritime Transport Security Bill must be practical, workable and acceptable to the whole maritime industry, not thrown together without full consultation. Labor appreciates the short timeframe needed to consider the Bill, but the Minister for Transport has a responsibility to get this legislation right and not treat it with the same contempt that he generally applies to shipping policies. I have continued to highlight the security and environmental risks with the Howard Government's liberal issuing of Single and Continuous Voyage Permits and the unfettered access to the Australian coast and ports by foreign-flagged vessels. For too long the Howard Government has claimed that Australia is a shipping nation, not a nation of shippers, and has had its head in the sand about the importance of shipping to Australia as an industry in its own right. These views are backed up in a report prepared by two former Ministers for Transport, Labor's Peter Morris and the National Party's John Sharpe, released last week. That report revealed an industry perception that the Howard Government's shipping policies - or lack thereof - are not consistent with their purported support for border protection. Labor has reserved its right to move amendments in the Senate and calls on the Minister to make the draft maritime security Regulations available for industry consideration and comment to the Committee.
For further information
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