The government in Canberra is pushing ahead with plans to develop an Australian-owned and crewed strategic fleet.
The government released today a report from an independent taskforce looking at developing a national fleet, something that has come in for repeated criticism from lobby groups.
The aim is to have a fleet of up to 12 state-owned ships that will help Australia build resilience to freight disruptions.
“Australia’s maritime sector has long been neglected with a shortage of Australian flagged ships and a skilled workforce,” the government stated today.
The taskforce found that the proposed fleet would be able to be relied on in times of national crisis and emergency, helping get vital goods to affected regions and making the country less reliant on international shipping.
Federal minister for infrastructure, transport, regional development and local government Catherine King commented: “We are getting on with the job of revitalising Australia’s long neglected maritime sector.”
The report came in for criticism today from lobby group Shipping Australia, which highlighted how previous state-run fleets in Australia had struggled in the past.
“At best the Strategic Fleet will add next-to-no extra capacity while being a costly waste of resources. At worst, it will increase costs during a cost-of-living crisis,” Shipping Australia stated in a release.
