Maritime Union of Australia. (2026). Submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia: Preparing for emerging industries across Northern Australia
This submission was made to the Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia’s inquiry into Preparing for emerging industries across Northern Australia, which was established to examine how the region can support new and expanding sectors including critical minerals, defence, clean energy, and associated supply chains.
The inquiry reflects growing policy focus on Northern Australia as a strategic industrial and logistics hub, particularly in the context of decarbonisation, regional development, and national security.
The union asserts that emerging industries in Northern Australia must be developed through coordinated policy, strong labour standards, and investment in sovereign capability, rather than fragmented, project‑by‑project approaches.
It places particular emphasis on the role of maritime infrastructure, Australian‑flagged shipping, and workforce development in underpinning supply chains across critical minerals, energy transition, defence logistics, and offshore decommissioning.
The MUA identifies policy and market failures, including weak financial assurance, gaps in hazardous‑waste regulation, and inadequate coordination across jurisdictions, as barriers to developing a domestic decommissioning and industrial base in the north.
It recommends a coordinated Northern Australian decommissioning capability plan, public investment in port and logistics infrastructure, stronger “polluter pays” and hazardous‑waste controls, integration with circular‑economy and green‑metals strategies, and reforms to workforce and safety systems.
Across all sectors, the submission calls for enforceable community‑benefit requirements, including secure jobs, First Nations participation, and the use of Australian crews and vessels, to ensure emerging industries deliver long‑term economic, environmental and social outcomes for the region.