The NSW Government has announced, as part of an overall Port Botany Landside Improvement Strategy (PBLIS), that new regulations will be introduced to ensure consistency and improve efficiency at Port Botany. There will now be performance standards for stevedores and carriers and they will be able to penalise each other if either party fails to meet set benchmarks and for the first time there will be a clear commercial relationship between stevedores and carriers.

This announcement is the culmination of over two years of discussion, inquiry, negotiation and eventually regulation by the NSW government to improve the landside interface between the stevedoring operations and the road and rail carriers at port Botany. During this time we have seen the IPART inquiry, submissions to Government and the involvement of many entities, including AFIF to try and bring equity and efficiency to the process. The Director for Seafreight affairs and the CEO of AFIF recently met with Minister McLeay who clearly expressed his resolve to either have parties agree voluntarily to change, or regulation would have to be enforced through the Sydney Ports Corp. That day has now arrived.

Once the regulations are introduced later this year, users of Port Botany can look forward to a more consistent service and the efficient movement of containers through the Port precinct. This reform package is designed to deliver cost benefits over 10 years on a Net Present Value (NPV) of AUD $27.9 million.

Container trade at Port Botany continues to grow strongly with a sixth consecutive month of increases and a record high throughput of 149,000 TEU's in March. Without these reforms, the situation could only worsen.

Members can view the Minister's announcement through the link below, which includes some of the detailed changes but in essence, it is going to:

• Improve the consistency of truck turn round times at the port.
• Reduce carrier times in and out of the port.
• Deliver better utilisation of existing port infrastructure.
• Improved transparency of operations.

Sydney Ports Corp and the NSW Ports Minister have worked hard to develop the Operational Performance Management (OPM) framework proposal between stevedores and transport carriers at Port Botany and to work cooperatively with industry. They should be congratulated for their resolve and this outcome. The Board of AFIF are in full support of the proposed changes and look forward to their implementation.

Please click here to view the announcement by NSW Minister for ports and Waterways Paul McLeay.

Please notify all concerned.

Thank you and regards