Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) is again in Canberra this week engaging with government officials with a particular focus on BMSB related issues.
Yesterday, 5 December 2018, FTA shared with the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources examples of tens of thousands of dollars in direct payments as a result of BMSB delays. These being in terms of stevedore storage charges, shipping line container detention fees and port administered hazardous cargo penalties.
In response, the department indicated that there will be a level of relief for wholesale forwarders in coming days with the restoration of the S-Cargo system allowing streamlined release of FAK / LCL containers from the stevedore to Sec 77G depots – please clickHERE for the official departmental notice.
It is clear that the remainder of the BMSB season will continue to put a significant strain on industry and departmental resources. In cases where the department has not been able to process containers efficiently, consideration may be given to compensation schemes available under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 – please click HERE to view a presentation on compensation recently delivered by Russell Wiese, Principal Hunt & Hunt Lawyers.
While continuing to work with the department on immediate operational matters, the focus for FTA continues to be on the post implementation review (PIR) to ensure that remedial action is put in place for seasons ahead, especially in the knowledge that the BMSB is spreading across more countries.
Preliminary policy matters being considered by the department includes:
"safeguarding" of particular commodities / approved practices for streamlined processing in future seasons only;S-Cargo systems "phase 3" to provide specific BMSB functionality to assist officers in clearing consignments;ramping up of offshore treatment providers; andmanagement of "dirty" containers.Improved.
Later this morning, FTA meets with advisors of the Hon. David Littleproud (Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources) where we will reiterate our position for urgent remedial action and the need for an independently led PIR. |
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