Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Minister for Transport and Regional Services) Share this | Hansard source

And there are still strict conditions, I might say to the honourable member for Batman. In fact, those conditions give priority to an Australian vessel wherever it is available to perform the task in reasonable circumstances. So, in that regard, we will always give priority to a suitable Australian vessel if it is available to undertake the task, and that has, of course, caused a degree of controversy within the shipping industry. However, it would be a nonsense to seek to create additional jobs in the Australian shipping industry if it were at the expense of additional jobs in Australian industries and factories. That is because the cost of Australian shipping is often so high that it becomes attractive for an international company to bring in goods from overseas on ships rather than to actually use the Australian product. That, to me, does not make much sense.

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