NSW’s Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations and Member of the Legislative Council, the Hon Damien Tudehope, declared that a State Coalition Government would be committed “to using every available tool to keep our ports open and operating at full steam, including where feasible, making applications under the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act”.
He added that “any major disruption to shipping poses a serious threat to everyone in New South Wales”.
Mr Tudehope, who was the keynote speaker at the Shipping Australia NSW Parliamentary Luncheon earlier this week, made the comments in the context of calls by Shipping Australia for the NSW State Government to intervene in the strikes against DP World in November 2023 and against Qube in January 2025.
“The Opposition was happy to support calls by Shipping Australia for the NSW Government to intervene to stop prolonged industrial action,” Mr Tudehope told SAL’s Luncheon guests.
He also took aim at the NSW Minister for Industrial Relations who, Mr Tudehope commented, was “happy to bring an application to save the New Year’s fireworks [but who] refused to give any serious consideration to intervening to keep our vital ports operating in the face of union actions [which] were callous and reckless about the impact on the NSW economy, on our trade reputation, on farmers, and on families and consumers”.
Noting that the Labor party has been re-elected to Federal Government, he added that there will be a wait of at least three more years for any opportunity to re-balance the Fair Work Act to make it less easy for “militant unions” to engage in protected industrial action that “hold the State, and the people, of NSW to ransom”.
Mr Tudehope also had some sharp words for the industry too, given its history in labour relations disputes.
Although re-declaring that the Coalition “stands ready to assist” with reforms to the waterfront, he told guests that it is “a two-way street”.
“If shipping companies want help dealing with militant unions or fighting against the uneven playing field that the Industrial Relations space is, then they need to be willing to see it through. More than once over the last two years, we’ve seen dispute after dispute with maritime unions boil over, only to result in capitulation. Capitulation that slows down innovation, stops the efficient use of automation and hold our industries back”.
Thank you to our sponsors
Shipping Australia’s NSW Parliamentary Luncheon was held with the generous support of the Port of Newcastle, The MCC Group, and OneStop. Shipping Australia thanks our sponsors for their generous support. Thank you.
A further story on our event will be published next week.
