Ports Australia calls for early consultation on supply chain stability review

Ports Australia is calling for early industry consultation in forming the Federal Government’s Productivity Commission review into Australia’s supply chain stability.

Port Australia said they have already expressed keen interest in receiving updates from the Commission and in providing a submission to the review.

The organisation said in a media release that seeking the perspectives of industry will be integral to developing a productive and useful review.

The review explores ways to bolster the stability of Australia’s supply chain, which has proven itself strong over the last COVID-ridden twelve months.

Last year, the organisation also launched a world first ports sustainability guideline that has since been applied across Australia and New Zealand, with the potential of being adapted worlwide.

Ports Australia maintained that the pandemic has proven how resilient our supply chain is when faced with a turbulent global market, public panic (evidenced by panic-buying in supermarkets), and a challenged national economy.

In a statement, Ports Australia CEO Mike Gallacher said he was encouraged by the intentions of the review but urged early engagement with industry.

“Ports Australia welcomes the recognition made by the Federal Government that our supply chain has proven itself resilient in the face of COVID, and it is the unstable global supply chain which is placing strain on Australian industries and economies,” Gallacher said.

“No one port around Australia is the same which is why it’s imperative the Productivity Commission seeks input from industry to develop a holistically informed report which will identify future opportunities for the Australian freight network,” he emphasised.

Gallacher continued that issues like disruption, congestion and port productivity are all flow-on effects of a global supply chain under duress, and Ports Australia welcomes the opportunity to analyse our relationship with that global market and how we can better fortify our operations against its volatility.

‘It will be interesting to analyse the effect of global supply chain events such as the current situation in Los Angeles where as of late January, more than 30 container ships were anchored off the coast waiting to berth, rendering inevitable delays around the globe,” he said.

For productivity and transparency, he said, Ports Australia also calls for all submissions to the Productivity Commission to be made public when it is appropriate to do so.

Ports Australia also welcomes the Federal Government’s interest in securing the stability of our supply chain and look forward to engaging early and providing our ports sector’s unique and essential input.