THE Federal Government has been urged to address the nation’s complete reliance on foreign owned, operated and crewed tankers to transport oil and petroleum products as part of ongoing efforts to address Australia’s chronic fuel security issues.

The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) welcomed the Request for Information process, which seeks to identify opportunities to strengthen refining capacity and increase domestic fuel storage capacity, but said issues facing the transport of liquid fuels to Australia and around the coast remained unresolved.

The union said the situation had greatly deteriorated in recent decades, with more than 90 percent of Australia’s liquid fuel needs now arriving via foreign owned and operated tankers. While 12 Australian-crewed tankers operated in the year 2000, there are no longer any in service.

“The COVID-19 heath crisis has highlighted the vulnerability of Australia’s supply chains and demonstrated how quickly a pandemic, military conflict, natural disaster, or economic shock could impact the supply of essential goods,” MUA national secretary and International Transport Workers’ Federation president Paddy Crumlin said.

“Clear gaps in Australia’s sovereign self-sufficiency have been exposed, placing a clear obligation on the Federal Government to close these gaps and reinforce the cabotage system that governs shipping around our coast, along with biosecurity, immigration, and related border controls.

“The COVID-19 crisis reinforced how absolutely essential shipping is, not only to fuel security but also to maintaining other domestic supply chains that provide essential deliveries.

“Australia’s complete reliance on foreign owned and operated tankers has left the nation extremely vulnerable, with no guarantee these vessels would continue to supply Australia during a major crisis.

“While recent shortages of household items were inconvenient, a crisis that cut fuel supplies would force the entire economy to grind to a halt.”

MUA assistant national secretary Ian Bray said the Morrison Government’s initial steps to enhance domestic fuel refining and storage capacity were a good start, but genuine energy security required action on how fuel is transported to Australia and around the coast.

“The Federal Government clearly understands that improving fuel security requires the strengthening of domestic refining capacity and a substantial increase to domestic storage, but the issue of how fuel products are transported to our island nation remains unresolved,” Mr Bray said.

“If the Federal Government is serious about examining industry solutions to address Australia’s fuel security, then it needs to look at the creation of a strategic fleet of Australian owned, flagged, or crewed tankers capable of maintaining supplies of oil and refined petroleum products in the event of a crisis.

“In a report commissioned by the MUA, shipping expert John Francis found the exclusive reliance on foreign flagged tankers for crude and refined petroleum products removed any opportunity for the Commonwealth to requisition national flag tankers if needed to maintain fuel supplies during a crisis.

“His report, Australia’s Fuel Security – Running on Empty, concluded that the retention of a minimum number of Australian owned, managed and crewed tankers was not only justified on national security grounds, but could be achieved at a minimal cost to end users.”

The Australia’s Fuel Security – Running on Empty report is available at https://bit.ly/31cDisq.

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THE Joint Standing Committee on Treaties will conduct a new inquiry into the treaty-making process, with a particular focus on trade-related treaties.

“This inquiry will examine the process of consultation undertaken during the negotiation of trade agreements and consider the effectiveness of independent economic analysis in informing these negotiations, with a view to making recommendations to government,” said Committee Chair Dave Sharma MP.

“This has been a topic of growing community and stakeholder interest,” Mr Sharma said.

Committee Deputy Chair Peter Khalil MP said, “Importantly this inquiry will give key stakeholders and the broader Australian community the opportunity to have their say. We look forward to hearing from as many voices as possible as we consider the trade-agreement making process."

The Committee has welcomed the referral from Senator Marise Payne, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and is looking forward to the opportunity to hear from experts and stakeholders.

The Joint Standing Committee on Treaties will inquire into certain aspects of the treaty making process, including:

• considering the role of JSCoT in respect of trade-related agreements, including during the negotiation phase;
• considering the consultation process undertaken by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) before and during the negotiation of trade agreements;
• considering the effectiveness of independent analysis to inform negotiation or consideration of trade agreements; and
• reviewing process around the categorisation of treaty actions.

Submissions are invited by July 31, with public hearings to be held during sitting weeks in August. Information on the progress of the inquiry will be available from the Committee’s webpage.

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THE FEDERAL Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works has announced that it will scrutinise a new project, from the Department of Defence.

Details of the project are: Department of Defence — AIR 555 Phase 1 Airborne Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance Electronic Warfare Capability Facilities Works — $293.65 million.

It is anticipated that the committee will conduct a public and in-camera hearing for the inquiry in early August 2020. The Committee would like to hear from all individuals or organisations interested in the project. Submissions for project will be accepted until July 28, 2020.

Note: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works is not involved in the tendering process, awarding of contracts or details of the proposed works. Inquiries on these matters should be addressed to the relevant Commonwealth entities.

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THE parliamentary inquiry into activating trade with Pacific Island countries will hear tomorrow from an ANU economist and also a Tasmanian power services company providing renewable energy across the Pacific.

The Trade Sub-Committee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade will hear evidence from the director of the Development Policy Centre at the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Professor Stephen Howes, followed by a video-conference with representatives of power company Entura discussing their projects in the Pacific.

Sub-Committee Chair John McVeigh has reminded people with an interest in this issue that submissions to the inquiry are open until June 30.

A full program for the hearing, as well as submissions to the inquiry, are available on the inquiry website.

Public hearing details

Date: Thursday 18 June, 2020
Time: 9.45am to 11.20am
Location: Committee Room 1R3, Parliament House, Canberra

The hearing will be streamed online at aph.gov.au/live.

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