The waterfront is the series of processes by which cargo is moved between land
transport and ships. There are three basic kinds of cargo: containers, bulk
cargo (such as coal or grain), and general or break bulk' cargo (such as timber
or motor vehicles). The waterfront involves a complex series of interactions
between importers, exporters, shipping companies, ship owners, port
authorities, government agencies and private companies supplying port related
services (such as stevedores and land transport operators) (pages 2-4).
For many years there have been concerns about the performance of the
waterfront, particularly in relation to the movement of containers. The main
problems that have been identified are the productivity and reliability of
stevedoring, ship turnaround times, and waterfront charges (consisting of
stevedoring charges, port authority charges, and government and ancillary
charges). Most media attention in recent debates has focussed on the
stevedoring industry, in particular the employment conditions of waterside
workers and the role of the Maritime Union of Australia in the industry. Others
aspects of the waterfront that are also significant to the overall objective of
moving cargo as quickly and cheaply as possible include port management, port
charges, land transport links, interaction between waterfront participants, and
the use of technology (page 9).
Substantial gains were made in stevedoring productivity during a
reform program implemented by the Federal Government from 1989 to 1992. Despite
these gains, it appears that further improvements in the container and break
bulk cargo areas are required for Australian to reach international best
practice levels. Australia's bulk ports are among the best in the world for
productivity and efficiency (pages 10-14). Australia's stevedoring
charges for containers and break bulk cargo are relatively high by world
standards, although they appear to be falling over recent years. Charges for
bulk cargo are generally very competitive (pages 14-15). There have been
continuing problems with stevedoring reliability and ship turnaround
times, with findings that the timeliness and reliability of container
operations in Australian ports lag well behind overseas ports. However, ship
turnaround times have been declining in recent years (pages 15-17).
A number of factors have been said to contribute to the problems in the
stevedoring industry, including (pages 17-21):
lack of competition among stevedoring companies;
restrictive work practices of waterside workers, such as
overmanning and limits on the use of casual labour, and very generous pay and
leave entitlements;
an industrial culture of mistrust and disputes between
employers and employees, particularly in the capital cities;
an effective closed shop' for waterside labour giving the
Maritime Union of Australia a strong influence over waterside work practices;
and
poor management practices by stevedoring companies.
Efficiency in cargo movement through ports may also be hindered by
inadequate co-operation between waterfront participants. It has been
argued that poor communication between links in the transport chain and a lack
of co-ordination and co-operation affect the performance of the waterfront
(pages 21-22). Port authority charges are a significant element in
overall waterfront charges for cargo, accounting for around one quarter of
container cargo charges. Some of these charges are levied on ship operators and
some are levied on cargo owners. Port authority charges in Australia generally
seem to be on a par with or higher than comparable overseas ports (pages
22-25). The capacity for competition between Australian ports is limited,
because the major ports are so widely separated that shipping companies often
have little choice of which port to visit. Many Australian ports have been
corporatised and in some cases privatised in order to improve their efficiency
and competitiveness (pages 24-25). Ancillary charges for pilots, tugs
and mooring also add to the cost of moving cargo. A brief overview is given of
the New Zealand reforms to waterfront labour and port authorities (pages
25-27).
In summary, the changes implemented since 1989 have achieved substantial
improvements in the stevedoring industry and port authorities, two of the most
important participants in the waterfront, but these improvements have been
variable. In the bulk cargo sector, Australia's waterfront is among the best in
the world, but in the container and general cargo sectors, the gains have not
been as impressive, and in some cases have begun to retreat. The point has been
made that the essential question is whether Australia's waterfront is
internationally competitive, not whether it has improved on its performance in
the last decade. The results again are mixed on this question, but overall
there is agreement that the waterfront must improve substantially in several
aspects before it reaches its full potential (pages 27-28).
