The Navy Vol_73_No_4 Oct 2011 - Navy League of Australia

In my view, these arrangements strike a good balance betweencompeting on a level playing field internationally, while ensuringAustralia’s domestic maritime cluster can grow.ACCESS TO THE COASTThroughout this reform process there have at times been claims thatthe Government is planning to close the coast to foreign shipping.This is not the case.It is important that Australian coastal shipping is competitive and thatshippers can make use of foreign-registered vessels when Australianships are not available.But the current permit system is broken. It creates uncertainty andserves as a disincentive to capital investment. Permits are too easy toobtain. The alleged policy objectives are observed in the breach. It isnot clear what permits are being issued and for what trade. The rulesaren’t clear and are not set out in legislation. There are no incentivesto encourage a long-term commitment to working the Australian coast.The new Reforms provide clarity and transparency to shippers andoperators and enable them to plan long-term.The new licensing regime will support Australian shipping and setclear boundaries around the necessary role of foreign vessels inour coastal trade. Licensing requirements and conditions will be setclearly in legislation, giving certainty and clarity to all operators.There will be a three tier licensing regime.A General Licence will provide Australian flagged vessels withunrestricted access to the coastal trades for a period of up to five yearsat a time. These vessels will also be eligible for the tax incentives.A Temporary Licence will enable foreign-flagged vessels to operatethe coastal trades, subject to time, trade and/or voyage conditions.These licences will be available for a period of up to 12 months.An Emergency Licence will be for cargo or passenger movements inemergency situations, such as natural disasters. These will only bevalid for a single voyage.Supporting this regime will be new reporting and publishingarrangements. And there will be a transitional period. Foreign-flaggedvessels that are currently licensed will have five years to transition toAustralian-flagged.MARITIME WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT FORUMThe fourth leg of reform is workforce development.A ship is only as good as its crew. We must attract, train and retaina skilled seafaring workforce. There will be no incentive to investwithout the right people in the right jobs.I touched earlier on the challenges of an ageing workforce, costly andcomplicated training systems and the consequent erosion of skills.This was strongly identified during the Review of Coastal Shipping.The Australian Government took heed and in July 2009 we providedthe Australian Maritime College in Launceston with almost $4 millionin funding for a new state-of-the-art maritime simulator to help delivertraining in coastal navigation. This simulator is now something of anattraction and has already had visitors from Chinese, Japanese andAmerican maritime educators.In February last year we provided the College with more than $2million to deliver vocational education and training. The Governmenthas already been doing its bit in this area and I believe industry mustalso ramp up its efforts in resolving the skills lag.To encourage this, I am setting up a Maritime Workforce DevelopmentForum with experienced people from industry, unions and the trainingsector.The Forum will address areas that are fundamental to building ourskills base. These will include a workforce plan for the mediumterm to address issues including the ageing workforce and the mostimmediate skills gaps. I expect the Forum to work hand-in-hand withthe proposed National Workforce and Productivity Agency, with AMSAand training providers.I also want advice from the Forum about how we can better use existingGovernment skills initiatives and funding sources. The Forum will bein place for no more than five years and I will review its effectivenesswithin two years.As an added measure, not previously announced, I will be inviting theNavy to be represented on the Workplace Development Forum, whichis being convened to help implement the skills development elementsof the maritime reforms. The decision to invite the Navy reflects thecentral role it plays in maritime activities and the value to both thenavy and broader maritime sector in expanding the pool of trainedseafarersThe Shen Neng 1 aground and leaking oil. On 3 April 2010, the 230 metre-long bulk coal carrier left the Port of Gladstone bound for China, carrying 68,000 tonnes of coal as cargo.The Chinese-registered ship was traversing a well known shipping route south of the Douglas Shoal, when it ran hard aground 38 nautical miles east of Great Keppel Island at about5.30pm. The impact ruptured the ship’s fuel tanks and released approximately four tonnes of fuel oil into surrounding waters.THE NAVY VOL. 73 NO. 4 25