MARITIME INDUSTRY AUSTRALIA LTD believes it is regrettable the latest Queensland floods once again underline the need for vigorous backing for a re-birth of the national maritime sector.
“The scenes coming out of North Queensland are shocking, and while it looks as if the flood waters have peaked and conditions are easing, the devastating impact of the flooding on road infrastructure along the Bruce Highway, which has isolated North Queensland communities and cut them off from access to vital supplies, will continue for months to come,” MIAL CEO Angela Gillham told DCN.
Australia is experiencing nearly annual catastrophic flooding events effecting critical land transport infrastructure, with damage to the east-west rail line in 2022 and destruction of the Fitzroy River Crossing in 2023, Ms Gillham noted.
“It is essential that we focus on building more resilience in our freight transport systems to secure our supply chains and increase our capacity for effective and timely maritime responses to natural disasters, among other very strong policy imperatives.
“As a large island at the end of the global supply chain, Australia should be a strong maritime nation. Naturally, we are utterly dependent on sea transport, but when it comes to sovereign shipping capability, we have an ever-diminishing fleet of 9, and are almost completely reliant on foreign assets and human capital, which leaves us vulnerable.”
Ms Gillham said the federal government’s Strategic Fleet Pilot, “which must be implemented as a matter of urgency”, is a welcome start, but progress on the policy settings required that will level the playing field for Australian shipping businesses allowing them to complete with foreign shipping in the long term, is essential.
“These reforms have been identified by numerous inquiries and reports, including recommendations contained in the reports of the Strategic Fleet Taskforce and the WA Shipping and Supply Chain Taskforce, as crucial to rebuilding our sovereign maritime capability and addressing obvious vulnerabilities on our national and supply chain security,” the MIAL CEO asserted.
