Labor proposes strategic fleet

While copping a pasting from Josh Frydenberg on Sunday about his deep-seated economic beliefs as reflected in comments made decades ago, Anthony Albanese was out on the front foot. He is far from the first politician to promise a high-speed rail link along a busy corridor. But cutting travelling time from Newcastle to the Sydney CBD from the current two hours and 45 minutes to two hours, and eventually to 45 minutes, would please voters in seats in play at the election. These include Hunter, being vacated by outspoken veteran Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon; Robertson, held by the Liberals on less than 5 per cent and Dobell, held by Labor on less than 2 per cent.

As a nation of vast distances, Australia does not do fast trains well. Lessons need to be learned from Japan, England and Europe. Cutting travel times for rail commuters was also part of Coalition policy in 2019. Under joint state-federal funding, work is under way to upgrade the Melbourne-Shepparton link, a fast-rail Melbourne-Geelong link and others. The Opposition Leader’s vision of Knights fans catching a train at 6.30pm and making it to Sydney Olympic Park for the start of an NRL game will appeal. While progress is being made in transport infrastructure in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, the nation has a long way to go.

In an announcement on Monday tied to national security and business, Mr Albanese will propose the creation of an Australian-flagged “strategic fleet” of up to 12 ships to ensure the nation has ongoing access to fuel supplies and other essential imports in the event of a natural disaster or international conflict. A Labor government would create a new taskforce to provide advice on establishing such a fleet. While it would be privately owned and would operate on a commercial basis, vessels would be available for the Australian Defence Force to use in crises such as natural disasters or war.

The Australian revealed in 2021 that Scott Morrison had faced demands from his own MPs to develop an Australian-flagged merchant fleet of up to 12 ships. Liberal MP Russell Broadbent warned that the ­nation risked “sleepwalking to chaos and further vulnerability’’, Joe Kelly reports. Fuel prices would soar if disruptions to Australia’s supply occurred in the Middle East or in shipping in the South China Sea. The Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers has also called for an Australian “security fleet” to underpin fuel supplies through the establishment of a group of tanker ships to be owned and operated by Australian companies. Mr Albanese’s constructive proposal is worth developing.