OPINION: Start of new Indonesian Free Trade deal to be a bright spot in our trade agenda
ONE of the major tasks for governments around the world are to adopt measures which may assist business to recover and thrive as they plan to move out of COVID – 19 restrictions....
OPINION: Pandemic lays bare Australia’s supply chain vulnerability
BARE shelves at supermarkets have brought into sharp focus the issue of disrupted supply chains. Australia has created a vulnerability to unforeseen shocks to supply chains, such...
INSIGHT: Imports of undenatured ethyl alcohol for hand sanitiser
IMPORTED undenatured ethyl alcohol that is imported with an alcohol by volume content of 80% or greater, and that is for use in manufacturing hand sanitiser in Australia, is...
OPINION: Are cruise liners the modern ‘ships from hell’?
THE CRUISE ship Ruby Princess is currently docked at Port Kembla where she is expected to remain for at least another week while the subject of a police investigation. This ship...
OPINION: Cruise shipping and COVID: Governments walking a tightrope
CRUISE ships have struggled to disembark passengers and crew when they have not been permitted to call at certain ports. A number of these ships have been off the coast of...
CORONAVIRUS: Open letter from Diego Aponte, MSC Group president and CEO
THE SPREAD of COVID-19 has created a public health issue unprecedented in our lifetimes, triggering an unexpected shock for societies and economies. During this troubling period,...
OPINION: Coronavirus, shipping companies focus on protecting crew health to keep freight moving
GIVEN widespread shoreside transmission of COVID-19 in communities around the world, shipping lines have been extremely careful to protect the health of their crews. COVID-19...
OPINION: Covid-19 and impact on air freight
FEDERAL government announcements regarding passenger movement restrictions in an effort to tackle Covid-19 has had an immediate effect on the movement of air cargo to and from...
OPINION: Tasmania responds to coronavirus freight challenges
BLINK your eyes and there are another ten layers of complexities to overcome. No different to anyone else, the logistics and shipping industry are working through the challenges...
OPINION: Lessons from the past
IN JULY 1971 I joined the exports transportation branch of the then Department of Trade and Industry in Canberra headed by Sir Alan Westerman. Interestingly Max Moore-Wilton (a...
LETTER TO THE DCN: DPWA and ancilliary fee hikes
WE NOTE with some beggared belief the announcement by DP World of yet further increases in the port access charges and wonder which parallel universe they inhabit. At a time when...
INSIGHT: Coronavirus and market impacts
CORONAVIRUS has quickly spread across the globe, infecting and killing people around the world. The virus has also infected markets, which have been hit with extreme volatility...
COMMENT: New Australian export controls on goods during the COVID – 19 crisis
FURTHER to the update last week, the government has now moved to impose export controls on “COVID – 19” goods during the present “human biosecurity period”. The Australian Border...
COMMENT: Controls on exports during Covid-19
THERE have been suggestions the federal government, through the Australian Border Force was proposing to control exports of certain items of high demand during the Covid-19 crisis...
COMMENT: Background to MSQ isolation directive
THIS week I issued a Direction to all international trading vessels entering Queensland’s ports. My Direction will mean that a 14-day isolation period must be observed since...
