Australian plans to tinker with cabotage will decimate number of local seafarers
Plans by Australian prime minister Tony Abbott to relax cabotage laws could see the local seafaring workforce contract by more than 90% to less than 100 seafarers, according to a new report by the Australia Institute.
Abbott’s Shipping Legislation Amendment Bill, due to be debated in parliament soon, has already attracted intense criticism from Australian trade unions. The Australia Institute claims if the bill passes the number of indigenous seafarers will drop from the current 1,177 to less than 100.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, under the proposed changes to the Coastal Trading Act, foreign-flagged ships with all foreign crews would be allowed to pay international wages – about a third of Australian pay – on domestic routes for up to half the year.