Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Hansard source

I congratulate the member for Hindmarsh for his very accurate description of how we've got into the mess that the nation is in on aged care. In my address on Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2021-2022 and related bills, I've been asked by constituents who have been seafarers to perhaps talk about part of the national debate which doesn't always get the attention it deserves. As I come from a family of seafarers, I thought I might make my contribution in that vein. It may interest members and other Australians listening to this that in two days it's the 79th anniversary of the sinking of the Iron Chieftain. The Iron Chieftain was a vessel of 4,812 tons, and it was sunk by a Japanese torpedo 45 miles east of Sydney. In two days time it'll be the 79th anniversary of the sinking of the Iron Chieftain. Australian seafarers died on that vessel. Indeed, throughout the Second World War, Australian seafarers suffered horrendous casualties, and it is to this function of the role of our shipping lanes and ships that I wish to address my appropriation remarks. I do it in the spirit of the 79th anniversary of the sinking of the Iron Chieftain 45 miles off Sydney.

Australian seafaring and Australian shipping are in a parlous state, not least because of the policy neglect of successive coalition budgets. Labor is yet to fully articulate its policy for the next federal election, and our very capable shadow ministers will be talking about that. But, reflecting the wishes of Australian seafarers in my electorate and across Australia, I thought I might remind them of some of the policies that we took to the 2019 election which provide, I think, very good ideas going forward for the principles of future policy. I acknowledge in the development of the 2019 policy the work of our current leader, Anthony Albanese, who was then transport spokesperson, and myself.

There are three principles which I think the budgets of the coalition and, indeed, Labor could afford to look at. We need to enhance our economic sovereignty and national security. What we suggested doing in 2019 was to create a strategic merchant fleet to secure our access to fuel supplies even in times of global instability. Australia relies on shipping to move 99 per cent of our imports and exports. It is in Australia's economic, environmental and national security interest to maintain a vibrant maritime industry. But, worryingly, Australia's own merchant fleet, as well as the skilled workforce it trains and employs, is fast disappearing. Over the past 30 years, the number of Australian flagged vessels has shrunk from 100 to approximately 14. It is in our national interest to change this direction.

In successive coalition budgets, under Prime Ministers Abbott, Turnbull and now Morrison, they've stood idle as large multinationals have dumped Australian flagged and crewed vessels so they could hire overseas crews. This has destroyed the jobs of Australian seafarers and created a situation where none of our vessels that our nation relies upon to deliver its essential supplies of crude oil, aviation fuel and diesel are registered in this country or crewed by Australians.

Whilst the steps by the government to secure the remaining two refineries were a welcome development, supported by Labor—suggested, indeed, by Labor before the last election—one thing we did suggest at the last election is that there should be a task force appointed to guide the establishment of a national strategic merchant fleet which could include up to a dozen vessels, including oil tankers, container ships and gas carriers. The Australian flagged and crewed vessels under the policy pre 2019 were to be privately owned and operated on a commercial basis, but they were to be available to be requisitioned by the government in time of national need.

We suggested before the last election that a strategic fleet task force would examine the fine details of the establishment of the fleet. We believed that that task force could include representatives of oil companies, ship owners and operators, the industry body—Maritime Industry Australia—the maritime unions and, of course, the Department of Defence. But this wasn't the only proposal which was put forward. We need to have legislative reform. We said then that the reforms introduced in 2012 should be enforced to prevent further undercutting of the Australian flagged fleet. Our leader, when he was transport spokesperson, promised to stop the abuse of temporary licences that occurred in breach of existing legislation and ensure that the national interest is prioritised when it comes to licensing foreign ships working in Australia.

We need to enforce these laws around coastal shipping. Merely because the economic activity takes part just beyond the breakers doesn't mean that it's not relevant to the Australian economy. We should require firms to seek out Australian operators and, where none are available, foreign flagged vessels should be used, as long as they pay Australian-level wages on domestic sectors. We wouldn't have aeroplanes flying overhead doing Australian flagged work in our air. But, somehow, because it's at sea, we assume that anything goes. I think that a strategic fleet, whether it is of the nature that we outlined and I took to the polls in 2019, or indeed subsequent work and reforms suggested by others, would put an end to the unilateral economic disarmament whilst providing a platform for the training of more Australian seafarers. We also should re-establish, perhaps, the maritime workforce development forum. It was abolished by the coalition short-sightedly after they took office in 2013. We must make sure that the issuing of temporary licences, allowing foreign flagged and crewed vessels to work around the coasts, is properly enforced.

This is not just an appeal to the defence of our nation or economic sovereignty. Other First World nations have re-established shipping fleets. Australia should, too. We are an island and custodians of an island continent. In the past 30 years the number of Australian flagged vessels has fallen, as I've said, from 100 to around just 14 vessels. Somehow, Norway, with a smaller population, has 519 vessels carrying the Norwegian flag; the United Kingdom, in 2019, had 1,157 British flagged vessels; and China, of course, never short to observe economic advantage, has 4,608 flagged vessels. We think that the abuse of the licensing system, providing licences for work that isn't temporary, and in cases where Australian vessels have been available, is a black mark on the coalition's credentials to be interested in national security.

The reforms outlined in 2019, the reforms suggested in collaboration with the Maritime Union of Australia, with the marine and power engineers and deck officers, are also about taking advantage of the blue highway. The blue highway around our continent is without a doubt the most effective and cheapest way to move cargo and freight around Australia. Indeed, there have been employers from the ports who have said that, without strategic intervention, Australian shipping will disappear. Gone will be our industry's ability to train Australians to run some of our most nationally significant infrastructure, its ports.

Ports are major employers of Australians, with maritime skills filling roles as harbourmasters, pilots, tug masters and hydrographers. There is a national and global shortage of specialised mariners. Part of the problem is that, in our maritime industry at the moment, over 60 per cent of the skilled people in the sector are over 45, whilst the number aged under 30 is reducing. Regional ports will struggle to attract adequately skilled people for specific roles. These aren't just my words; they're the words, in 2019, of Mike Gallacher, the chief executive of Ports Australia.

As I said at the opening of my address in this appropriations matter, shipping is an area, because it's beyond the breakers, that doesn't attract the same attention as other matters, but we need a strong and revitalised Australian flagged shipping industry with a securely employed Australian workforce. This is important for our economic security, for our national security and for environmental protection. As I said at the opening of my words, in two days time it'll be the 80th anniversary of the sinking of the Iron Chieftain. The Iron Chieftain tragically wasn't the only Australian vessel or, indeed, allied vessel sunk off the Australian continent in Australian territories in the Second World War. Contrary to some popular beliefs, Australia's merchant seamen at that stage were not well paid, they did not have comfortable working hours and their living conditions were often very poor. The seafarers were accused of untoward industrial action in the Second World War, but the Australian seafarer actually almost always entered the Second World War on the basis of poor pay, extreme danger and poor working and living conditions. In 1972, the Seamen's Union of Australia researched that 386 members of their union lost their lives during the Second World War. Given the union's claim of a total membership of 4,500 at the beginning of the war, the overall fatality rate amongst Australian seafarers in the Second World War was 8½ per cent, a higher fatality rate than any branch of the Australian military forces.

Australia is an island nation. Labor will no doubt have a strong, pro-maritime policy at the next election. There was a lot of good work done prior to the last election on our maritime policies. But this isn't even a question of Labor or Liberal. We're an island country; we need to understand and appreciate that the blue highway that surrounds us is an economic opportunity but also a national security challenge. We've seen in the time of COVID that, all of a sudden, supplies and things which we take for granted in our shops have not been able to be shipped to Australia. We've seen vaccines not shipped to Australia because we don't make them here and other countries put first claim upon them. We've seen our own supplies taken from this country overseas by other countries seeking to take our resources in times of economic difficulty. A island nation without ships is a nation that is defenceless.

There are more ways of undermining Australian sovereignty than simply by force of military arms. If we ever get into a conflict, we will wonder where our seafarers, our ship's engineers and our skilled maritime crews will come from? On that basis, one of the matters which appropriations should be dealing with in the future is our economic sovereignty, and one of the ways we will do that, along with the other policies already announced by the Albanese Labor opposition, is by having proper Australian seafaring ships.

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