One in five ships from China to Port Botany cancelled amid warning ports fight could make cost-of-living crunch worse
The ports dispute could spark another cost-of-living crunch. As 13 of 69 Chinese freight ships bound for Port Botany are cancelled, there are warnings of supply shortages and freight price rises.
NSW
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Almost one out of every five freight ships bound for Port Botany from China have been cancelled over January amid a messy dispute between DP World and the union.
A log of vessels due to travel to Australia from China, seen by The Telegraph, shows 18 per cent of incoming ships have been axed, with 13 voyages cancelled out of a scheduled total of 69.
Freight and Trade Alliance director Paul Zalai said congestion caused at docks across the country due to Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) industrial action was to be blamed.
Mr Zalai said the number of cancelled ships opting out from coming to Australia would lead to freight prices rising – which would then be passed on to consumers in the latest cost-of-living crunch.
“It’s a significant issue – the reduced capacity will no doubt influence freight rates as well. Of more concern is the devastating impact on our exporters and the inability to reach critical markets,” he said.
“The government has made it extremely clear that they’re not going to get involved – so it’s really forcing DP World to come back to the table with unions.”
DP World has claimed the dispute is costing the national economy $84m a week, although Mr Zalai said his “gut feeling is this is very conservative”.
The MUA has been locked in a months-long scrap with DP World, Australia’s second largest ports operator, over pay and working conditions, with industrial action since September including daily work stoppages leading to a backlog of more than 50,000 containers at ports across Australia.
The MUA argues that staff at DP World are paid about 17 per cent less than their counterparts at the country’s largest port operator, Patrick, which has a higher level of automation at its ports after spending $1 billion on technology upgrades in the last decade.
Workplace relations Minister Tony Burke last week ruled out the Federal Government stepping in to end the dispute, saying “ “I’ve made clear to both groups … that I have no intention of intervening”.
“I think people are sick to death of being told that their wages are always the problem,” Mr Burke said last week in an apparent sign of support for the union.
Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley said the government should focus on solving the ports dispute, instead of a planned meeting at Canberra this week which will see Labor politicians flown in from across the country to discuss cost of living issues.
“Problems on our ports directly increase Australia’s cost of living because they drive the price of imported goods up. Instead of backslapping with his caucus on Wednesday, Anthony Albanese and Tony Burke should focus on fixing this problem,” Ms Ley said.
With Mr Burke’s refusal to step in on the brawl, it means the union can continue industrial action until the middle of the year – with current laws not requiring mandatory arbitration until after nine months of action.
Australian Retailers Association CEO Paul Zahra said the supply chain crunch was yet to fully hit consumers, but warned “Australian retailers won’t be able to handle a full nine months of stock delays”.
“Up until now retailers have managed to minimise the impact on consumers – but we’re now at that tipping point. Right now, Australians don’t need any other issue that’s going to impact their cost of living,” he said.
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Originally published as One in five ships from China to Port Botany cancelled amid warning ports fight could make cost-of-living crunch worse
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