Shipping reforms pass muster
Minister Anthony Albanese’s major shipping reforms are a mere inking away from becoming law after the bills passed through parliament.
Only the Royal Assent by the Governor General is required for the bills to become law. Teresa Lloyd, executive director of the Australian Shipowners Association commented “the introduction of the Australian International Shipping Register is a major development for Australia… we congratulate Minister Albanese and the Gillard government for their commitment to the revitalisation of the shipping industry.â€
Meanwhile, the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) also welcomed the passage of the shipping package.
“I’m over the moon,†declared Paddy Crumlin, the national secretary of the MUA, adding, “it’s a great day for everyone who believes that Australia is a shipping nation.†He pointed out that the reforms replace 100-year old legislation which is, in itself, he said, an indicator of how important these reforms are.
“We’re in the business of creating a shipping policy to help Australian manufacturing rather than drive it away. The fact that a minority government has delivered it shows the great promise and potential of the reform package,†Mr Crumlin asserted.
Describing the consultation process as long and comprehensive, he criticized shipping policy emanating from the Howard government era as being detrimental to the Australian maritime industry. “It’s the end of a 17-year period to reinstate a decent shipping policy in this country. It’s a great day for Australian merchant seafarers,†he said.
Shipping industry figures were somewhat more circumspect.
Shipping Australia CEO, Llew Russell, commented that “a lot will depend on what happens in the next 12 months†and remarked that there is potential for it to work or that there could be “severe disruption†depending upon how the law is put into effect.
Still, Mr Russell maintains a cautious optimism as, he says, “the signs from the Department [of Infrastructure and Transport] are encouraging while working within the confines of the legislation.â€
Meanwhile, in the Senate, immediately prior to the passages of the legislation, Liberal Party senators criticized the legislation as being bureaucratically burdensome and likely to impose extra costs on industry.
Source: Lloyds List June 2012
Malaysia, Australia deal signed to promote mutual trade growth
Australian exporters of automotive parts, as well as exporters of iron, steel and dairy products to Malaysia, are set to benefit from improved market access under the new Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement (MAFTA).
Building on the in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Australia New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA), this bilateral deal will guarantee tariff-free entry for 97.6 % of current Australian goods exported to Malaysia when it comes into force on January 1, 2013. That figure will move up to 99% by 2017.
Malaysia’s exports will similarly benefit from duty-free entry into Australia as soon as the agreement is in force.
Australia has six free trade agreements currently in force, one each with New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, the Chile and with ASEAN. The countries covered by these free trade agreements account for 28 % of Australia’s total trade.
Nine more free trade agreements are under negotiation, including with China, Japan and South Korea. The countries covered by these negotiations account for a further 44% of Australia’s trade.
Australia welcomed the entry of Indonesia into AANZFTA on January 10.
That agreement is now in force for all 12 signatories: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Source: Lloyds List June 2012
Piracy is never going to get resolved at sea’
The argument that more needs to be done to highlight the situation of piracy in Somalia and the Indian Ocean to the public is supported by documentary-maker Simon Reeve, who has experienced first hand the dangers at sea in the area, but also at the heart of Mogadishu.
His six-part series exploring the Indian Ocean has just finished on the UK’s BBC.
“Before we started, I was obviously aware of the problem of piracy and the threat it posed to shipping, but I had not fully appreciated the scale of operations run by the pirates; how geographically huge the area they operate in is and how many hostages have been taken,†“We hear very, very little about them, but their families are rattling tins back home in their villages desperately trying to get them released, but we really only hear about it as an issue in Europe when perhaps relatively wealthy yacht owners are taken.
“I also hadn’t appreciated how often we would encounter people talking about piracy, even well outside the zone around Somalia.â€
Considering that his journey for the series started in Durban, South Africa and ended in Western Australia, he was surprised just how widespread the problem of piracy is, suggesting that a bigger drive is needed to rally support from politicians and the public to tackle this situation.
When travelling on a “giant fluorescent orange†Italian containership from Durban to Maputo in Mozambique, Mr Reeve said despite the master of the vessel being very warm and welcoming, it was clear he “had many sleepless nights†when sailing through the Indian Ocean.
Later on in his journey, he came across Kenyan fishermen scared to go out to sea after having their boats hijacked.
He also met the Pakistani master of a trading ship that was calling in Mombasa who had been stripped of everything, including his clothes, when his vessel was boarded by pirates.
He was one of many who advised Mr Reeve and his team not to travel by sea and fly instead.
“We had been quite keen to go by ship because we wanted to experience what people are enduring out there. We were quite hopeful about travelling on a convoy that was taking World Food Program aid to Mogadishu, but ultimately we couldn’t because the captain of the ship decided he couldn’t guarantee our safety and so refused to take us.â€
For Mr Reeve, perhaps the most frightening fact he heard was one commonly known by the shipping industry these days, but not by the public: that the average time from pirates spotting a ship and getting on board is just 15 minutes.
“When you are at sea and you look at the vastness of the ocean and you realise how few international naval vessels are out there protecting shipping, you realise they haven’t got much of a chance of stopping pirates,†he said.
When out there, Mr Reeve met many private military contractors and non-governmental organisations operating from a military base in a fortified medieval fort in Mogadishu, but many had never left the base because it was so dangerous.
“Certainly my concluding thought while visiting Mogadishu was that piracy is never going to get resolved at sea,†he said.
While he could see the argument of needing more protection at sea, it struck him “as very obvious†that if the world wanted to “stabilise this desperate country and bring security and some sort of future for the people of Somalia, then it has got to be on landâ€.
Source: Lloyds List June 2012
