AUSTRALIAN ports are inefficient and are a drag on the Australian economy, so said Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry ACCI chief executive Andrew McKellar during an address to the National Press Club of Australia on Wednesday (17 August).

“If the government is serious about pursuing economic reform and productivity gains, it must address our grossly inefficient stevedore operations which will put Australia on a stronger, more competitive path for years to come,” Mr McKellar said.

Mr McKellar said Australia’s globalised economy necessitates a competition for markets, and ports are critical gateways for goods entering and leaving the country.

“Yet Australia’s [ports] rank as some of the least productive in the world, snarling supply chains and slugging business, workers, and consumers with increased costs,” he said.

“The World Bank recently ranked the top ports in the world and Australia failed to put a single port in the top 250.

“Meanwhile the MUA maintains its chokehold on Australia’s ports, trashing any measures that would encourage a more flexible and responsive workforce,” Mr McKellar said.

“Indeed, in a report released late last year, the ACCC found that rolling industrial action has destabilised the operation of Australian stevedores for more than a decade.”

And today, he said, the stakes are particularly high. Mr McKellar said the war in Ukraine and disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic are still causing issues.

“Cutting the performance gap of our ports is critical to address Australia’s languishing productivity growth and will provide improved access to global markets. Because uncompetitive ports mean uncompetitive businesses,” he said.

“Achieving a high level of productivity requires containers to move as quickly as possible through our ports and keeping transportation costs at a minimum.”

Mr McKellar then turned to specific clauses in wharfies’ enterprise agreements.

“‘Family and friends’ style clauses, such as that agreed between Hutchison Ports and the MUA, mean that 70% of new hires must be sourced from employees’ ‘families and friends’ or a union list of names. These must be barred in any future agreements approved under the Fair Work Act,” he said.

“The same holds for clauses that prevent job losses from automation. We are shooting ourselves in the foot if we stifle access to efficient and innovative port operations that our competitors already have in place. We must use the bargaining system to provide for workforce upskilling rather than simply delaying the inevitable.”

And Mr McKellar took aim at needlessly complex regulation at ports.

“Complex regulation, overlapping agency administration and undue red tape governing our ports has similarly curbed their productivity,” he said.

“With over 30 agencies and 200 legislative mechanisms governing the operation of international trade, it is vital that federal and state governments reform Australia’s international trade regime to streamline their operation.

“In some cases, poorly conducted port privatisations have also produced near-monopoly conditions. The freight and logistics systems that move goods to and from the ports are similarly constrained. Governments must encourage new players to increase competition in our ports.”