Wendy Askew voted very strongly against encouraging Australian-based industry

(a) notes that:

(i) since 2013, gas prices for manufacturers have skyrocketed, increasing by up to four times their levels in 2013,

(ii) according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, spiralling gas prices have resulted in three manufacturers closing down and threaten the viability of many more businesses,

(iii) Australia has become the world’s largest gas exporter while our own businesses face difficulties in securing affordable gas supplies,

(iv) the Federal Government continues to refuse to bring big gas companies to heel by pulling the trigger on gas export controls,

(v) under Prime Minister Morrison, power prices have continued to skyrocket, with wholesale power price futures contracts up by 33% since former Prime Minister, Mr Malcolm Turnbull was forced out of The Lodge, and

(vi) Prime Minister Morrison’s election promise to reduce wholesale power prices to $70/mwh by 2021 would only bring prices back to the levels seen under his predecessor, Mr Turnbull; and

(b) calls on the Federal Government to take real action to reduce the cost of energy in Australia by:

(i) bringing big gas companies to heel by finally pulling the trigger on gas export controls and ensuring Australian users have access to affordable Australian gas,

(ii) guaranteeing a reduction in gas prices for Australian businesses to levels that can sustain competitive Australian manufacturing, as well as ensuring ample gas supply for Australian users, and

(iii) delivering a national energy policy that will end investment uncertainty and deliver a modern energy system including cheaper, reliable and clean power.

That the Senate—

(a) notes:

(i) that only 14 Australian-flagged trading vessels operate in this country,

(ii) that up to 80 Australian seafarers were sacked following the decision by BHP and Bluescope to remove the MV Mariloula and the MV Lowlands Brilliance from their iron ore route between Port Hedland and Port Kembla, replacing them with foreign-flagged vessels with exploited foreign crews getting paid as little as $2 an hour,

(iii) the ongoing failure of the Liberal-National Government to stand up for Australian seafarers and to support the Australian shipping industry, a situation that will be made worse by its Coastal Trading (Revitalising Australian Shipping) Amendment Bill 2017 that could open up more domestic sea freight routes, including Bass Strait, to foreign-flagged ships and exploited foreign crews, and

(iv) that the continued failure of the Liberal-National Government to guarantee that Bass Strait shipping would not be impacted by its proposed legislative changes threatens the jobs of Tasmanian seafarers and leaves Tasmanian exporters at the mercy of decisions in overseas boardrooms; and

(b) calls on the Federal Government to:

(i) support Australian seafarers and the Australian shipping industry and abandon the Coastal Trading (Revitalising Australian Shipping) Amendment Bill 2017, and

(ii) investigate the establishment of an Australian 'strategic merchant fleet' in areas of importance to the Tasmanian and Australian economy, such as the importation and distribution of liquid fuel, namely crude oil, aviation fuel and diesel, and quarantining the domestic sea freight task on Bass Strait as part of a 'strategic fleet'.