Victorian Coastal Shipping Review
The Victorian Government appreciates the time taken by shipping industry stakeholders to respond to the terms of reference for the Victorian Coastal Shipping Review.
This work is in addition to the review underway into infrastructure pricing at, and access to and from the Port of Melbourne, brought forward following increases in stevedore infrastructure charges at the port.
Freight Victoria has consulted with and/or received submissions from freight customers and operators, shipping businesses, economic development organisations, unions, ports and channel authorities and port service providers to ensure their input helps shape the strategy and review.
A key focus of the Victorian Coastal Shipping Review was to examine the regional economic growth coastal shipping creates and identify ways to maximise the employment of Victorian seafaring labour. A diverse range of issues were raised by stakeholders in the submissions, they included:
- the current regulatory regime
- uncertainty regarding the current regulatory regime
- reduction in the availability of skilled maritime labour
- subsidisation of road transport
- operating costs
- the need for landside investment to support coastal shipping activity
- port planning requirements that facilitate coastal shipping
- identification of markets where coastal shipping can compete.
The issues and suggestions raised will be considered as part of the development of a Victorian port strategy.
The submissions are available to download below:
The terms of reference for the review have been released and are available to download below:
Updated