Shipping Australia, the peak body for Australian shipping, has written to the Australian Federal Government calling for Australian support for the shipping industry position that there should be freedom of navigation and toll-fee transit passage for international shipping.
We are an industry association that represents the participants in Australia’s international supply chain. We have over 70 members, including large ocean shipping lines and shipping agents, along with a wide range of maritime service providers. Our members handle the vast majority of containerised seaborne cargo imports and exports to and from Australia. We were contacted by our international partners as part of an international campaign and we were asked to write to the relevant ministers.
Shipping Australia’s primary responsibility is to advocate for the interests of the shipping industry. We have therefore written to Senator the Hon. Penny Wong, Australian Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs; Senator the Hon. Don Farrell, Australian Minister for Trade and Tourism; and Hon. Catherine King MP, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. We have urged that the Australian Federal Government support the international shipping industry’s position.
Advice to Australian ministers
Ministers were advised that maritime transport carries approximately 90% of world trade and that, in Australia, that figure rises to over 99%. The ability of merchant ships to navigate international waterways safely, predictably and without unnecessary impediment is fundamental to resilient supply chains, economic stability and energy security. Australian ministers were advised that the potential for the introduction of compulsory transit charges for passage are a toll in all but name and would establish a precedent that could undermine the internationally recognised legal framework governing straits used for international navigation.
Ministers were further advised that additional costs in maritime transport inevitable flow through the supply chain, increasing costs for businesses and consumers alike, and were directed to research which indicates that an increase in maritime transport costs can potentially contribute to Australian inflation.
